Keywords

Introduction

Contextual consideration is fundamental to speech selection. Politeness in speech results from a thought process that considers specific sociocultural contexts (Leech, 2014, p. 13). Accordingly, Mills states that consideration of politeness and context is evident in the form of a speech (Mills, 2011, p. 57). Elements of the context, such as the conversation partner, the setting, and the speaker’s meaning are all important in this context (Kramsch, 1998, p. 35). Austin notes that the compatibility of words uttered during a communication should consider the circumstances, the communication’s aim, the diction, and the listener’s reaction or response to the words (Austin, 1962, p. 8).

Circumstances and forms of speech aimed at the contestants on The Voice Kids Indonesia (TVKI) illustrate such contextual consideration. TVKI is a talent show for children from 8 to 15 years old. The judges assess the quality of the children’s singing, and their comments are tailored not to create discomfort for the contestants. The effort to put each contestant at ease shows that there is awareness by its interlocutor to prioritize politeness (Aleshinskaya, 2016, p. 1). Showing consideration for politeness in providing comments is essential for delivering a motivating message (Blakemore, 2014, p. 107), and TVKI judges take into account each contestant’s dignity when communicating with them. One method for delivering a motivational comment is by complimenting the contestant. Compliments or verbal appreciation play a role in building close relations between judges and contestants (Brown, 1987, p. 1; Culpaper, 1996, p. 349).

The comments given by the TVKI judges affect the contestants’ psychological condition during the competition. When the contestants appear distressed, judges attempt to remedy the situation by offering comments that could create a more comfortable situation for them. TVKI judges’ comments are unlike those in other similar programs, such as The Voice of Indonesia, Indonesian Idol, Kontes Dangdut Indonesia, etc., which are usually harsh and mainly pick on the contestants’ weaknesses. Our observation suggests that TVKI’s judging situation is unique in the sense that the judges’ comments tend to be geared toward maintaining the contestant’s self-respect. In fact, when the judges cannot avoid criticizing the contestant, they seem to manage their words, so they appear polite and encouraging. This means that the words tend to be motivational. In this study, we offer a pragmatic analysis of these comments and ask the following questions: What kinds of comments can be considered motivational? How is politeness achieved in these comments?

Politeness Strategy and Motivation Theory

Comments submitted by the judges to TVKI’s contestants exhibit a linguistic fact that illustrates how language can be used as a tool to have a specific purpose and exercise power. In this case, the comments of TVKI’s judges can serve as an evaluation for the contestants so that they can learn from them and improve their performance or be able to compete effectively. Therefore, the TVKI judges’ comments allegedly contain intentions or efforts to motivate the contestants during the judging process at the event. We draw on Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory (1987) and Maslow’s theory of motivation (1943) to explain the strategies that the judges adopt to motivate the contestants.

Our data consist of seven episodes of the program, which we collected by downloading the videos from the official TVKI’s YouTube channel, specifically episodes 1−4 from the Blind Audition Series and episodes 9−11 from the Battle Round Series. This means we have both visual and audio data. However, our analysis is based on audio data only. The visual data were used as supporting material for describing the judging context. The data were transcribed and compiled in word documents. We then categorized the judges’ comments in terms of motivating value and politeness strategies.

At the initial research stage, we focused on analyzing the judges’ efforts or potential to motivate the contestants through their comments on each contestant’s performance. The comments suggested that the judges appear to take into account such factors as the contestants’ tender age and the public nature of the context. Both these factors call for motivating comments that acknowledge the effort, the reasons, and the drive to meet their basic needs, and that can motivate an individual to strive to fulfill their need for love, esteem, a sense of safety, and self-actualization (Maslow, 1943).

The second stage focused on analyzing the judges’ comments in terms of politeness. We first analyzed the judges’ comments according to the following categories: compliments, criticisms, and suggestions. Based on our initial analysis, we adjusted the categories into the following: calling, complimenting, and objecting. Following Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory (1987), we classified politeness strategies into five groups: the faceFootnote 1 threatening act (hereinafter referred to as FTA) strategy with no redressive action (also called the bald-on-record strategy), the bald-on-record with redressive politeness action, the negative politeness strategy with redressive action, off-record strategy, and say-nothing strategy (Brown, 1987; Goffman, 1956).

An example of motivating speech that employs politeness strategies to help fulfill a contestant’s needs is one where the judges recognize the contestant’s need for esteem. The statement “You have a lot of energy, don’t you? I like it” shows that the judge is helping a contestant meet this need through a direct compliment. A direct compliment is a politeness strategy aimed at helping an interlocutor preserve the conversational partner’s positive dignity. Another strategy is avoiding disagreement, e.g., Menurut Judge 3 sudah bagus yah tadi. Mungkin Judge 3 belum menemukan yang lebih pengen Judge 3 mau. Tapi, bukan berarti jelek yah sekali lagi, ok? “For me, it was good. Maybe I haven’t got what I wanted. However, that doesn’t mean your performance was bad, ok?” (TVKI4/Contestant 1). From that part of the comment, we can see that Judge 3 did not want his comments to cause conflict. He didn't want his reason for rejecting the contestant to be misconstrued and considered as a criticism of the contestant’s performance. Thus, he felt that providing psychological stability to his conversational partner was required (Sifianou, 2012).

The motivating potential in the judges’ comments can be understood in terms of the effort made to eliminate or reduce the anxiety and pressure experienced by the candidates before and during their performance. Anxiety can lead to poor performance. In a paper entitled “Understanding and Addressing Performance Anxiety,” Beilock et al. explain that anxiety is sometimes caused by an external factor (Beilock et al., 2017). In TVKI, contestants may experience anxiety from feeling pressured to perform well or they will be judged harshly. To avoid creating tension in a competition, TVKI’s judges make an effort to create a non-threatening situation for the candidates by deliberately constructing their comments in such a way as to prevent embarrassment for the candidates.

Thus, the efforts by the judges to create a “safe” situation for the participants simultaneously indicate an effort to protect the dignity, or “the face,” of the candidates. The effort is also directly proportional to the expert's statement that pressure can affect performance. Pressure, in the form of threats, can produce poor performance, while a “safe” situation is expected to provide motivation and make the candidates feel more confident so they can maximize their skills in the competition.

Politeness Strategy in Constructing Motivational Comments

Analysis of the judges’ comments in TVKI reveals their efforts to employ various politeness strategies in their assessments of contestants. In addition, judges also encourage contestants to develop their talent. As mentioned, there are four types of motivational comments, namely those that meet the needs for safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. The need for safety can be defined as being free from fear and anxiety (Maslow, 1954). Fulfillment of needs for safety includes comments that do not humiliate contestants, that express criticism gently, and that guarantee a contestant will be able to compete in the long run. To create a comfortable judging situation, the judges’ comments prioritize the contestants’ need for love. This is shown, for example, in the use of identity markers, such as saying “sweetheart,” abang “brother,” and kita “us.” Comments designed to fulfill their need for esteem include those that compliment the contestants’ performance and individual traits, appreciate their performance, acknowledge their talent, and reflect on their reputation and potential, and include the use of words, such as bagus “good,” keren “cool,” luar biasa “amazing,” hebat “great,” and lucu “cute.” This relates to Maslow’s belief in the basic need for people to receive recognition, appreciation, or respect, from others. Comments that potentially fulfill the need for self-actualization include those that assure contestants that they will perform much better in the future, provide advice on achieving professional improvement, and offer guidance for determining what suits them best.

Comments are commonly interpreted as a form of “judgment” of one’s abilities. TVKI’s judges, on the other hand, are known to use specific speech strategies in conveying their comments. As a result, instead of being a critical speech that could affect the participants’ feelings or self-esteem, the TVKI judges’ comments have the potential to motivate. Motivational comments that address safety needs are achieved through positive politeness strategies: optimistic statements, statements that avoid conflict, words of reason, and careful assessments. Judges commonly use statements, such as Meskipun ada kekurangan tapi sudah baik “Though not flawless, you’re good”; Penampilan kamu masih bisa diperbaiki, “There’s room for improvement”; and Bakat kamu masih perlu dipoles, “You still need to polish your talent.”

Motivational comments that meet the contestants’ needs for love are realized by the positive politeness strategy of finding something in common and by positive strategies that offer a chance to do an activity together with the judges. The judges also use negative politeness strategies, such as expressing specific requests, to motivate the contestants. The following are some examples of motivating comments that verbally meet the contestants’ various basic love needs, and make use of negative and positive politeness strategies.

(Dialog 1)

 

Judge 2:

…. Kamu bisa loncat-loncat, bisa ngomong sama penontonnya, matanya juga kamu bisa bermain, iya kan? Nah, itu membuat penampilan kamu nantinya, orang lebih pengen ikutan jingrak-jingrakkan nih. Pengen dance bareng dia, pengen ikutan have fun samadia, gitu. Penampilannya, istilahnya harus lebih lepas

“You can jump around, can talk to the audience, can even use your eyes to communicate, right? Now think of how to use all of that to get your audience hyped. Get them to want to jump around with you, dance with you, have fun with you. In other words, you really have to bust a move.”

Judge 1:

Sebenarnya rumah Juri 2 sama Juri1 itu deketan. Jadi, kamu bisa belajar part teknik yang lain dengan Juri 1. Nanti kita kalau mau belajar main dance, nanti kita main aja ke rumahnya Juri 2

 

“Coach 1’s house is near Coach 2’s. Therefore, you can study other technical details with Coach 1; then we can drop by Coach 2’ house for dance practice.”

 

(TVKI/Eps.3/Contestant1)

The beginning of Judge 1’s comment contains an assertive-stating statement (Searle, 1979, p. 10) in a truth-bound statement about the proximity of Coach 1’s house to Coach 2’s house: “Coach 1’s house is near Coach 2’s.” Subsequently, Coach 1 follows this up with an expression of commissive offering (Rahardi, 2005; Searle, 1979) through the statement “…then we can drop by Coach 2’s house.” The use of “we” signals to the contestant that Coach 1 sees Contestant 1 as part of his team. This statement demonstrates Judge 1’s effort to foster closeness between himself and Contestant 1. Comments, such as this, encourage Contestant 1 to join Judge 1’s team to improve her singing. Judge 1’s request, which asks Contestant 1 to get Coach 2 involved in performance improvement, further reinforces the motivating value of Judge 1’s comments. We maintain that the fulfillment of love needs, that comments like this potentially serve, can inspire Contestant 1 to improve her skills and help her grow and excel in a professional environment or group that is willing to accept her.

Judge 1’s comment of “Coach 1’s house is near Coach 2’s house” is an offer and forms part of his positive politeness strategy to engage the interlocutor in an ongoing conversation. This can also be understood as an effort to create harmony between the judge and the contestant by bringing them closer emotionally. Judge 1 has encouraged Contestant 1 to take a future action to help Contestant 1 achieve their goal on TVKI. The psychological consequence of Judge 1’s comments is that Contestant 1 may feel a sense of participation; consequently, this may make her feel comfortable with that competitive environment and also with that particular group of people. Therefore, the positive politeness strategy in Judge 1’s comments helps maintain the interpersonal relationship with Contestant 1 and also helps her fulfill her love needs (Kavanagh, 2016). Positive politeness strategies, particularly those that engage all interlocutors, have become a vehicle for motivating comments based on love needs; this is the fulfillment approach. The result of using positive politeness strategies is that it potentially increases contestants’ motivation to compete and have greater self-confidence. Self-confidence is positive energy for the contestants. As stated by Richard M. Ryan and Deci, one could be motivated if one feels valued in an activity or receives encouragement from others (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

The following is an example of Judge 2’s application of positive politeness strategies.

(Dialog 2)

 

Judge 2:

Coach, Aku ngomong, ya?

‘Coach, may I?

Judge 3:

Iya, harus kamu dong yang ngomong

‘Yes, you do have to say something

Judge 2:

Aduh, aku senang deh kamu nyanyiin lagunya Coach

Judge 2. Coach tuh nyari yang bisa lengkap juga. Artinya, lagu ini kan gak selamanya semuanya harus teriak…. Kamu di beltingnya sudah asik, trus powernya udah oke. Tapi, mungkinbelajar vocal rangenya biar lebih lebar lagi…. Coba ah disitu ah. Sama-sama yah (Coach 2 dan Kontestan 2 berduet) Gitu yah, jadi mesti belajar lagi pas suara nada rendahnya lebih ini vokalnya rangenya aja, ok? Tos dulu dong

“My gosh, I’m so happy you were singing my song. I’ve been looking for a versatile singer. This song doesn’t just ask you to belt it out.…You seemed to have fun with the belting out, and your power is great. Still, you may need more practice to improve your vocal range. Let’s try—say aah here—aaaah—together with me.… (Coach 2 performs a duet with contestant 2). That’s it. So, practice more, especially for the lower vocal range. Vocal range, okay? High five

Contestant 2:

(nods and gives Judge 2 a high five)”

 

(TVKI/ Eps.1/Contestant2)

The sentence “I’m so happy you were singing my song” expresses Judge 2’s gratitude because Contestant 2 is singing her song when auditioning. Judge 2 also expresses her hope of finding or discovering a versatile singer. Judge 2’s use of the word “versatile” refers to the multifaceted skills a contestant should have as a child singer. This statement has the potential to humiliate Contestant 2, because, indirectly, it considers Contestant 2 as not meeting the judge’s expectation. Judge 2’s criticism is delivered subtly, however, because she does not literally or explicitly state that Contestant 2 is a talentless singer. Realizing the potential for humiliating Contestant 2, Judge 2 continues by complimenting her: “You seemed to have fun with belting it out, and your power is great.” Seen as a strategy of positive politeness, Judge 2’s compliments promote solidarity between her and Contestant 2, and by making these comments, the judge avoids creating embarrassment for Contestant 2.

Motivating comments, based on the fulfillment of esteem needs and realized through positive speech strategies, assume the form of compliments, special mentions, and statements of approval. Compliments, or verbal appreciation, constitute but one strategy to further motivate an individual to achieve a goal—a kind of reward for an individual’s efforts. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, being complimented is part of an individual’s esteem needs, namely the need for respect and recognition of dignity and potential (Maslow, 1943, 28). Judge 2’s compliments emphatically steer Contestant 2 away from possible humiliation caused by previous comments about what makes a good singer. Judge 1 gives compliments to meet Contestant 2’s psychological safety needs, for even though she fails to proceed in the competition, TKVI judges still commend and acknowledge her.

In dialog (2), Judge 2 invites Contestant 2 to a duet while giving her direction and correction. The statement “Let’s try say aah here—aaaah—together with me. …” intensifies her interaction with Contestant 2 to maintain harmony between them. Judge 2’s efforts to help Contestant 2 improve indicate that TVKI judges want all TVKI contestants to develop or improve their skills, regardless of whether they are still in the competition or no longer competing in TVKI. The forms of motivating comments that convey negative politeness strategies, include directives, suggestions, offers to do something together, and by using positive politeness strategies, such as pledges. These strategies were employed in the judges’ comments to help the contestants meet their needs. Statement (2) is delivered along with Judge 2’s example of a correct singing technique. This statement encourages Contestant 2 to actualize her potential to improve. Seen in that light, the advice or direction in Judge 2’s comments, exemplifies an effort to fulfill Contestant 2’s needs for self-realization. Contestant 2’s nodding attests to her understanding and acceptance of Judge 2’s comments encouraging her to work toward improvement. Contestant 2’s nod indicates comprehension and acceptance of the judge’s remarks. Genuinely accepted suggestions can assist one in working toward improvement (Henricson, 2017, p. 114). Therefore, Judge 2’s comments belong to the potentially motivating comment category. Knowingly or not, Judge 2 has motivated Contestant 2 by giving verbal encouragement—systematic directions—that can help Contestant 2 develop her talent (Guèguen, 2015, p. 55). Judge 2’s negative politeness strategies thus become a means of helping Contestant 2 meet her self-actualization needs.

In general, both Judge 1 and Judge 2 express motivating comments through positive politeness strategies, thus helping TVKI contestants to meet their esteem and love needs. However, the two judges differ in the way they do this. Judge 2 makes full use of the strategy of finding similarities between the contestants and herself more often than Judge 1. Judge 1 manifests no distinct characteristics in his commenting, as he merely compliments the contestants or appreciates them in order to motivate them.

(Dialog 3)

 

Judge 2:

Nyanyinya asik. Emang gitu, nyanyi itu, kenapa saya sangat mengidolakan Michael Jackson yah? Kenapa? Karena kalau kamu dengarkan dia nyanyi lagu up-beat, dia uh keliatan banget kayak garangnya. Eh, pada saat dia lagi nyanyi lagu yang soft, kamu bisa mengangis bersama dia, gitu dan itu bukan hanya, kalau saya ngeliat dia, itu dia bukan kayak penyanyi tapi dia kayak produser vocalnya sendiri. Dia tahu gimana cara dia produce vocal dan kamu tadi kamu memproduce vocal kamu sehingga kayaknya kawin banget deh, yah coach ya?

“Your singing is cool. That’s it—cool. See, I always look up to Michael Jackson, because when you listen to him sing an upbeat song, he would sound so fierce. When he sang soft singing, you’d cry along. And that’s not all. When I saw him, he wasn’t just a singer; he was his own vocal creator. He knew how to produce vocal, and you just did it the way he did. Right, coaches? Right?”

 

(TVKI/ Eps.1/Contestant3)

In her comments, Judge 2 shares that she enjoys Contestant 3’s singing, as evidenced by her statement “Your singing is cool.” The use of “cool” indicates her enjoyment. Judge 2 builds on this by comparing Contestant 3 to Michael Jackson, explaining Jackson’s skills in vocal production—Jackson’s listeners were mesmerized and captivated by his songs. Judge 2 believes that Contestant 3 shares similar skills. These compliments about Contestant 3’s singing skills and techniques exemplify comments that respect an interlocutor’s positive face, and this may result in pleasing the interlocutor. Judge 2’s compliments, equating her skills with those of a professional singer, have the potential to add to Contestant 3’s confidence.

Psychologically, compliments are a form of recognition, earned by a person who has done a great job, who has accomplished what she/he is required to do. Maslow (1943) observed that each individual needs recognition. In the context of TVKI, Contestant 3’s singing skills are recognized by Judge 2 by referring to the participant’s ability as being similar to Michael Jackson's. This would encourage the contestant to improve the quality of her singing. Judge 2’s positive politeness comments are part of her strategies to motivate Contestant 3 to improve and impact Contestant 3’s fulfillment of esteem needs.

Dialog (4)

 

Judge 1:

Tepuk tangan dong buat Contestant 4. Kalau tadi kamu pas udah masuk reff lagunya kita udah liat-liatan dan suaranya warnanya bener, eh menarik sekali. Hanya butuh apa yah kalau menurut saya yah?

“Applause for Contestant 4, please. When you’re on the refrain part, we (herself and Judge 2) look at each other and think your timbre is on the spot. Very interesting. Now, what do you need is—well, you just need—”

Judge 2:

Jam terbang kayaknya

Coach “More experience, I think, Coach”

Judge 1:

Jam terbang, betul yah? Kayaknya jam terbang biar lebih, biar lebih, karena kadang-kadang gini loh misalnya kita sudah menguasai teknik vokal, kita juga sudah paham liriknya tentang apa. Tapi, saat jam terbangnya belum terlalu tinggi kita belum bisa melawan, kita belum bisa mengubah deg-degan menjadi energy positif. Itu bisa bikin presentasi final kita jadi gak ada magicnya, gitu. Jadi, menurut saya kamu punya warna suara yang luar biasa. Kemudian, kamu juga punya keinginan yang dari semuda ini sudah besar keinginannya untuk bisa belajar teknik vocal. Jadi, saya rasa tinggal menunggu waktu kalau bukan di sini mungkin di tempat lain kamu akan sangat bersinar

“Experience, right. That’s right—more experience, so that—let’s see. For instance, we’ve mastered all the vocal techniques and understood the lyrics well. But without a lot of experience, we might not be able to fight or turn our nervousness into positive energy. That might make our final presentation lose its magic, you see. I think you have an amazing timbre. You also have a great passion to study vocal techniques. I think it’s only a matter of time for you to shine, here or someplace else.”

 

(TVKI/Eps.4/Contestant4)

In her comments, Judge 1 notes the importance of experience for a singer. Agreeing with Judge 2’s statement, Judge 1 says he believes that Contestant 4’s flaw is lack of experience. By saying so, Judge 1 informs Contestant 4 that experience helps a singer to master vocal techniques and improve his/her performance. Judge 1’s statement exemplifies directive advising. His comments implicitly offer criticism and a statement about the flaw in Contestant 4’s performance. Such a flaw is evident in Contestant 4’s observable nervousness, as Judge 1 implies in “But without a lot of experience, we might not be able to fight or turn our nervousness into positive energy. That might make our final presentation lose its magic, you see.”

These comments are a statement about the flaw that Judge 1 observes in Contestant 4’s performance. The mentioning of this flaw in front of the TVKI audience might come across as humiliating for Contestant 4. However, Judge 1 understands Contestant 4’s position in the competition and makes an effort to avoid humiliation. Judge 1’s efforts to maintain Contestant 4’s dignity and steer him away from a humiliating situation, are evident in the way he presents his criticism, namely indirectly and in the form of a combination between a directive and advice. As such, his comments belong to the category of statements that reflect the fulfillment of psychological safety needs. Instead of emphasizing the participant's flaws, the judges focused on “experience” matters. This action of psychologically meeting a contestant’s needs for safety, shines a light on TVKI judges’ understanding of its contestants, who are children in their tender years, whose self-esteem might be fragile and therefore would benefit from considered advice.

In dialog (4), Judge 1 and Judge 2 understand that Contestant 4’s failure in the audition is an inconvenience to him; therefore, both judges agree to explain the reason for the failure, which is not because he is talentless or lacks a good voice, but because he needs more experience to become accustomed to performing on-stage and to be more creative with his performance. This awareness caters to each individual’s need for safety, particularly when receiving an assessment in front of an audience. In this setting, TVKI judges help to meet Contestant 4’s safety needs when they employ positive politeness strategies in their comments. Contestant 4’s dignity or positive face-saving is preserved because the judges do not criticize the contestant’s potential, but rather offer advice, encouraging the contestant to seek more singing experience. This act is motivating because it is aimed at encouraging Contestant 4 to strive for his best, and the comments also serve to fulfill the contestant’s safety needs.

TVKI judges are aware that every auditioning contestant does not want to be judged as lacking talent or creativity. Therefore, they comment subtly on every contestant’s faults. Dialog (4) shows that the judges are emphasizing a lack of experience as the cause of Contestant 4’s failure in the audition. To avoid threatening the contestant’s dignity in their comments, the judges compliment or appreciate the contestant’s efforts: “I think you have an amazing timbre. You also have a great passion for studying vocal techniques.” These comments count as compliments, serving as a softener intended to minimize or avoid threatening the dignity of the contestant who has just been failed by all three judges. To maintain harmony among the three of them and the contestant, the judges remain appreciative of the contestant, as evidenced in the compliments “an amazing timbre” and “a great passion for studying vocal techniques.” These compliments can turn into positive energy for Contestant 4 and help him to stay confident in his potential. In dialog (4), the contestant’s need to be recognized for his potential or talent is met by the judges’ compliments for his voice and passion for learning. According to Maslow, a verbal compliment caters to one’s esteem needs: “Every individual deserves recognition for his potential” (Maslow, 1943, pp. 27–29).

Based on the examples discussed above, we can argue that the act of motivating, as performed by TVKI judges, contributes to the fulfillment of safety and esteem needs. A failed contestant’s dignity is preserved when judges do not blame either his/her talent or vocals. TVKI judges also understand each individual’s need for recognition. These needs are met when contestants, who receive compliments, feel that the judges acknowledge their talent or potential. Their comments are not given to harshly judge or condemn contestants but rather to consider the dignity and needs of each contestant as a young individual who wishes to improve and succeed.

Episodes 1–4 “Blind Auditions” and 9–11 “Battle Rounds” of TVKI presented 867 comments exemplifying positive politeness strategies and 525 comments exemplifying negative politeness strategies. The lower number of occurrences of negative politeness strategies is because they can be employed only to help meet TVKI contestants’ love needs and needs for self-actualization. Meanwhile, positive politeness strategies are employed to help meet TVKI contestants’ needs for love, esteem, safety, and self-actualization. When commenting, TVKI judges choose particular expressions that are conducive to creating a comfortable situation for the contestants. Such comfort, which the TVKI audience can also watch, has a positive psychological impact on the contestants’ sense of self-growth.

Motivational theory is a theory that outlines how people find a certain structure or system that can help them better understand their needs, and their lives. Maslow mentions that motivation theory is quite successful in a clinical, social, and personal logical way as it fits very well with most people’s experience and has helped them make better sense of their inner lives (Maslow, 1954, p. xiii). In this study, we have used Maslow’s theory to explain the relationship between politeness strategies and motivational comments, in helping participants develop their potential. Based on our analysis, we have argued that the politeness strategies used by the judges have the potential to fulfill the contestants’ needs. They create a condition whereby the contestants do not lose face and accept the judges’ comments as advice or suggestions that can help them deliver a better performance.

Although good performance can eventually result from the judges’ motivational comments, it should be stressed that motivational comments alone do not create a good performance; the individual/contestant’s ability ultimately also plays a key part.

Conclusion

The judges’ comments contain the potential to motivate the contestants and fulfill the four basic needs for safety, esteem, love, and self-actualization. The judges’ awareness of these needs can be shown in the way they manage their words and politeness strategies to maintain the contestant’s dignity.

We have shown that TVKI’s judges use positive politeness strategies in their motivational communication more often. The positive politeness strategies used by the judges in their comments have the potential to fulfill the four basic human needs, while the negative politeness strategies serve as a motivational tool for fulfilling the contestants’ needs for love and self-actualization.

The fulfillment of basic needs, through verbal expression, shares a similarity with the purpose of politeness strategies. Both aim to protect an individual’s self-esteem, create a pleasant environment, and help others self-actualize. Awareness of the need for a comfortable evaluation situation leads TVKI judges to adjust their speech to suit the public context of their interaction with the contestants. To the failed contestants, the judges offer no explicit comments on mistakes or weaknesses but provide directions to help them correct mistakes in their performance. Through their choice of words and expressions, the judges demonstrate their efforts in ensuring their comments are non-humiliating. The use of politeness strategies thus plays a role in encouraging or motivating TVKI contestants to develop their talents. Politeness strategies, specifically those that preserve TVKI contestants’ self-esteem, are a verbal means that the judges use to help contestants meet their needs. The TVKI judges’ intention to motivate comes across well through their polite statements. The open judging witnessed by the audience then truly becomes an exciting, motivating platform for both TVKI’s child contestants and its audience.