Encouraging applause? (8)
I believe the answer is:
cheering
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'encouraging' is the first definition.
(cheering is a kind of encouraging)
'applause?' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
(Other definitions for cheering that I've seen before include "Encouraging" , "Applauding" , "Shouting praise and hoorays" , "Shouting in encouragement or approval" .)