The applause arrives together, though everyone has noticed something different.

A room clapping sounds like one opinion and is nothing of the sort. One person was moved by a line in the second act, another by the lighting, another by a memory the whole thing happened to touch. The shared gesture hides how private the experience was, which is why agreement on a verdict tells you very little about agreement on reasons.

After the next thing you see or hear with other people, ask someone what stayed with them. Do not offer your own answer first. You will usually find they watched a different event in the same seat as you.