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This paper presents a contrastive approach to speaker-audience interaction in political speeches, specifically, in relation to culture. It begins with a review of seminal and subsequent research based in the UK, which has shown how speakers use rhetorical devices to invite audience responses, typically applause. This is followed by evaluation of political speech research set in other nations – both Eastern (Japan and South Korea) and Western (USA and European), English-speaking and non-English-speaking – investigating how the behaviour of speakers and audiences contrasts across cultures. Proposals include, that whereas speakers in Western nations predominantly use rhetorical devices to invite audience responses implicitly , their counterparts in East Asian nations are more inclined to use explicit invitations. Furthermore, whereas invited booing is a salient feature from observations of American and French political speeches, the same cannot be said of others, particularly Japan, where such behaviour is reportedly absent. Speech-making was once regarded as monologic, but studies reported herein show how political speeches can be considered dialogic, akin to how people in conversations take turns. However, it is shown here that behavioural specifics of this form of dialogue need to be understood in the context of culture. • Review of UK political speech research: speakers use rhetoric to invite applause. • Evaluation of comparable research set in other nations. • Includes Eastern (Japan/South Korea) and Western (European/USA). • How does the behaviour of speakers and audiences contrast across cultures? • Strong evidence for cultural differences in speaker rhetoric and audience responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]