Dwight must confront his fear of public speaking when he is named Dunder-Mifflin's Salesman of the Year. To prepare for a big convention where he is set to give a speech, Dwight turns to Michael to guide him in his quest to conquer the fear. Meanwhile, Pam gets wrapped up with wedding plans, but Jim has plans of a different sort: an escape route out of Dunder-Mifflin and Scranton, at least for long enough so that he doesn't have to witness Pam's wedding. While all of this is happening, the staffers battle it out over control of the thermostat.
WAR
74.1
Wins Above Replacement
“Dwights Speech” ranks #79 of 183 The Office episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 88.8 — Elite. The episode packs 60 scored jokes at 3.2 per minute, averaging 7.3 on craft and 7.2 on impact, with Michael landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Dwight: Dwight's full Mussolini-ized speech: 'Blood alone moves the wheels of history! Have you ever asked yourselves in an hour of meditation which everyone finds during the day...'
Dwight Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: 'Salesmen of Northeastern Pennsylvania, I ask you, once more, rise and be worthy of this historical hour!'
Dwight Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Jim · Pam: Jim tells Pam he's leaving on June 8th. Pam says 'Oh.' Jim: 'Yeah, and I'm really sorry about that.' Long pause. Pam: 'Oh, yeah, that's too bad.' Then awkward silence.
Jim Pam Cringe/Discomfort Awkward Silence ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: 'We must never acquiesce. For it is together! Together that we prevail! We must never cede control of the motherland, for it is... Together that we prevail!'
Dwight Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Dwight · Office Staff: Dwight's attempt to demonstrate public speaking: announcing a serious highway accident, Brad Pitt being in it, Brad Pitt will never act again, no bonuses, and the branch is closing — escalating lies stacked on top of each other to a panicking office
Standout Moments
Dwight: Dwight's full Mussolini-ized speech: 'Blood alone moves the wheels of history! Have you ever asked yourselves in an hour of meditation which everyone finds during the day...'
Dwight Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: 'Salesmen of Northeastern Pennsylvania, I ask you, once more, rise and be worthy of this historical hour!'
Dwight Absurdist Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Jim · Pam: Jim tells Pam he's leaving on June 8th. Pam says 'Oh.' Jim: 'Yeah, and I'm really sorry about that.' Long pause. Pam: 'Oh, yeah, that's too bad.' Then awkward silence.
Jim Pam Cringe/Discomfort Awkward Silence ★ Rewatch Callback All Jokes — 60 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Michael: Michael pacing around the parking lot talking to himself about a hypothetical corporate request, arriving at the profound conclusion that corporate will say 'yes or no'
Michael · Jim · Kevin · Oscar · Phyllis · Creed · Ryan: Michael yelling 'Heisman!' while throwing a football in the parking lot, interspersed with him demanding the ball back from every single coworker including Creed, as the football chaotically passes through the entire office staff
Michael · Ryan: Ryan gets tackled or knocked down during the football game; Michael's only follow-up is a perfunctory 'You all right, Ryan?' and Ryan's flat 'Yeah.'
Michael · Jim: Michael reading sale ads and musing 'Maybe I should get a TiVo... DVD burner... you are so lucky, Jim, you don't have this problem' — implying the 'problem' is having money to spend
Jim · Michael: 'What was the ninth place prize again? A loaf of bread?' — 'Cojino's pizza.' — 'Question, do their pizzas play DVDs?'
Jim Michael Setup/Punchline Deadpan/Understatement Callback Jim: Jim's talking head: 'Dwight was the top salesman of the year... It is literally the highest possible honor that a Northeastern Pennsylvania based mid-size paper company regional salesman can attain, so...' — long pause to camera
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat ★ Rewatch Michael · Jim: Michael asking Jim 'Are you sad that Dwight beat you? Are you gonna cry? Do you need a tissue?'
Pam: Pam's talking head: 'I have a ton of stuff to do for the wedding. And I have to do it in the office. And that can be kind of awkward. I just... I don't want to offend... Angela. Or someone.'
Pam Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Michael · Dwight: 'That's what she said.' — Dwight: 'I don't get it.' — Michael: 'Grapes, seductive. Fruit, grapes. Nailed the joke. Matter of time.'
Dwight · Michael: Dwight says 'absofruitly' instead of 'absolutely' — Michael: 'Fruit, grapes. Nailed the joke. Matter of time.'
Michael: Michael describing what he misses about winning the convention award: 'Sir, you're awesome. Here's a plaque. What, a whole year has gone by and you need more proof? Here's a certificate. They stopped making plaques that year.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael: Michael's spelling bee story: 'When I was in the sixth grade, I was a finalist in our school spelling bee. It was me against Raj Patel. And I misspelled, in front of the entire school, the word... failure.'
Michael Setup/Punchline Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Michael · Dwight: Dwight: 'I can't do this.' — Michael: 'That's because you're incapable of doing it. Because you don't know how. Because you have no skills.'
Michael · Dwight: Michael: 'If you have a question, you should ask me.' — Dwight: 'I'll try and think of one.' — Michael: 'Don't try to think of a question to humor me. Just try not to be such an idiot.' — Dwight: 'Is that an insult or is that part of the public speaking advice?' — Michael: 'Insult.'
Pam: Cut to Pam on her cell phone apologizing to her mom about not wanting orange wedding invitations, then immediately cutting to another call where she's calling a travel agent to 'get out of town' and 'go someplace not here'
Pam Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy Dwight: Dwight's talking head: 'I get here early every morning so I can set the thermostat. I like it a little cooler, around 66 degrees. I'm more productive. Maybe some people don't like it as cold as I do. But I don't care.'
Dwight Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael · Dwight · Jim: Michael's public speaking joke lesson: 'What is the difference between a salesman and a saleswoman? A saleswoman has a vagina.' — Jim: 'It's a joke, Dwight, it's not a sex ed class.' — Dwight: 'But I'm right.'
Michael · Office Staff: Michael tells the office they're all getting $1,000 bonuses; they erupt in celebration; he then tells Dwight 'You see that? In that moment, I had them.' Then immediately has to walk it back.
Dwight · Office Staff: Dwight's attempt to demonstrate public speaking: announcing a serious highway accident, Brad Pitt being in it, Brad Pitt will never act again, no bonuses, and the branch is closing — escalating lies stacked on top of each other to a panicking office
Michael · Pam: Michael: 'Pam, I'm public speaking. Stop public interrupting me.'
Michael · Angela · Pam: Angela's response to Michael asking if wedding planning would be good practice for Pam's wedding toast: 'Yeah, the bride doesn't really do...' — Michael: 'Have you ever been to a wedding?'
Jim: Jim's 'toast': 'I am going on a trip. But I'm not really sure where I'm going yet. It's kind of open-ended.'
Jim Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Unknown: Someone suggests Jim go to Hedonism: 'It's like Club Med, but everything is naked.'
Unknown Setup/Punchline Deadpan/Understatement Creed · Michael · Jim: Creed stands up to toast 'Amsterdam' and reveals he went there after his divorce for 'about a week. Or maybe a month.' Michael: 'Jimmy, listen to me. You do not want to go to Amsterdam, trust me.'
Michael: Michael warns Jim not to go to Amsterdam: 'Jimmy, listen to me. You do not want to go to Amsterdam, trust me.' / 'I'd send you to Hong Kong.' / 'I'd like to say hi to my friends in China.'
Michael · Dwight: Michael instructs Dwight: 'Show us what you have learned today.' — Dwight stands and delivers: 'Good morning, Vietnam!'
Dwight · Michael · Office Staff: Dwight: 'I'm not nervous in front of them. They're my subordinates.' — Coworker: 'No, we're not.' — Dwight: 'Yes, you are.' — Michael: 'Well, it's mostly made up.'
Michael: Michael's talking-head: 'Dwight is not going to do a good job, it's sad. And they're expecting excellence because I did do such a great job. Two years in a row I killed. It was amazing.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Callback Michael: Michael's talking head: 'Dwight is not going to do a good job, it's sad. And they're expecting excellence because I did do such a great job. Two years in a row I killed. It was amazing.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Dwight · Jim: Jim asks Dwight where he'd travel; Dwight says he'd go to New Zealand 'and walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor. And then I will hike Mt. Doom. Now just leave me alone.'
Michael: Michael: 'I didn't actually major in public speaking. But I did download speeches from some of history's famous dictators. Like this one. Originally given by Benito Mussolini.'
Michael Dark/Subversive Misdirection ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael's public speaking advice distilled from dictator study: 'You've gotta wave your arms, and you've gotta pound your fists. Many times. So as to emphasize your point.'
Angela · Dwight: Angela, with complete sincerity, says 'The very best of luck to you, Dwight' before he goes on stage
Pam: Pam and another woman discuss the wedding venue at the VA: 'Roy has a connection. It's nicer than you think.' — 'You're inviting Jim?' — 'Of course, he's one of my closest friends.'
Pam Cringe/Discomfort Awkward Silence ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael at the convention: 'Wow, it's a little bit bigger than I remembered.' — looking out at an enormous ballroom full of people
Dwight · Michael: Dwight, about to give the speech, suddenly claims to feel 'under the weather' and says he will 'go home and rest'
Michael · Dwight: Michael: 'I've never ever seen you take a sick day.' — Dwight: 'Well, I've seen you take enough for the both of us.'
Emcee · Dwight: The emcee mispronounces Dwight's last name as 'Schroot' instead of 'Schrute'
Michael: Michael rushes to the microphone to cover for the missing Dwight and opens with 'Good morning, Vietnam!'
Michael Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: Michael: 'I am not Dwight Schrute. Not at all. I am Michael Scott, his mentor and boss.'
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Michael: Michael's speech: 'And until Dwight comes up, if he ever does, I wanted to say a few words about excellence. What makes a work environment excellent? Well, there are many things, I believe, that do such a thing of that... nature.'
Michael: Michael's speech about 'excellence': 'What makes a work environment excellent? Well, there are many things, I believe, that do such a thing of that... nature. And one would be humor.'
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Michael: Michael attempts to deliver the salesman/saleswoman joke to 1000 salespeople — long awkward pause after the setup visible from the scene cut
Michael Cringe/Discomfort Awkward Silence ★ Rewatch Callback Unknown: Dwight's thermostat talking head is echoed: 'I always set it at 69.'
Unknown Running Gag Cringe/Discomfort Callback Ryan · Pam · Jim: Ryan casually mentions he doesn't see himself ever getting married — Pam reacts with an 'Oh.' — long uncomfortable beat — then Ryan is later told to be more sensitive because 'it's obvious she likes you'
Jim · Ryan: Jim pulls Ryan aside: 'Ryan, you should be more sensitive. It's obvious she likes you.' — Ryan: 'I know what I said.' — Then Ryan pivots to apologize to someone for their hearing aid, completely changing the subject
Jim Ryan Character Comedy Misdirection Callback Michael: Michael's convention speech devolves into Michael Winslow impressions: 'And now, the black guy from the Police Academy movies. A robot. Michael Winslow. Anyone? A car starting.'
Michael Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Michael · Dwight: Michael introduces Dwight back to the stage: 'Good luck. That is a tough crowd.'
Michael: Michael introducing Dwight: 'All right, Dwight Schroot, everyone. Good luck. That is a tough crowd.'
Michael Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Dwight: Dwight's speech continues with full fascist oratory: 'Have you ever asked yourselves in an hour of meditation, which everyone finds during the day, how long we have been striving for greatness?...' — applied entirely to paper sales
Dwight Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Dwight: Jim's talking head during the speech: 'Jim has worked at the same place for five years. Jim eats the same ham and cheese sandwich every day for lunch. I don't know, if I were a betting man, I'd say he will have a fun weekend in Philadelphia.'
Dwight Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: Dwight's speech continues: 'No revolution is worth anything unless it can defend itself! Some people will tell you salesman is a bad word... I say, salesmen and women... of the world, unite!'
Dwight Absurdist Escalation ★ Rewatch Callback Dwight: 'We must never acquiesce. For it is together! Together that we prevail! We must never cede control of the motherland, for it is... Together that we prevail!'
Dwight Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Jim: Jim's talking head: 'Australia? I have always wanted to go there. I'm going. I'm a little nervous to run into Dwight on his connecting flight to Mordor, but other than that... Yeah, I bought the ticket. Non-refundable.'
Jim Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Jim · Pam: Jim offers to take Pam's papers 'on my way out'; she says 'It's okay, I got it'; he says 'All right. Thanks. Okay.' and leaves — extended awkward non-exchange
Jim Pam Awkward Silence Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Callback Michael · Dwight: Michael's bar story: a woman orders a drink, gets IDed, doesn't have her ID, says she'll go get it, and hasn't come back — Michael recounts this as an absolutely riveting tale to Dwight
Michael: Michael's talking head: 'Dwight gave a great speech. That's the word on the street, anyway. And I entertained Dwight to no end with my bar story. So I captivated the guy who captivated 1,000 guys.'
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm ★ Rewatch Callback Top Episodes — The Office
