What The Office Taught Millennials About Public Speaking
Over the years, I’ve noticed a pattern among my public speaking clients. One that’s especially common among millennials.
Someone will sign up for public speaking support and say something along the lines of,
“I want to be a more engaging speaker, but I don’t want to be cartoonish.”
“I don’t want to be theatrical.”
“I don’t want to be over-the-top.”
It's a fascinating tension. People want to captivate an audience, but they're terrified of sounding like they're "performing."
Where did that fear come from?
I think this video from voice actor Tawny Platis gives us an important clue.
Her theory? We’ve been culturally conditioned by The Office, and more specifically Jim Halpert.
You know, this guy:
(Just kidding, but if you get the joke, your algorithm brought you to the right place… and the millennial voice is probably something you need to work on).
The Rise of the “Millennial Voice”
Essentially, Tawny’s theory is that John Krasinski (the actor behind Jim Halpert’s character) is responsible for the “millennial voice.”
You know the one. It’s neutral, conversational, friendly, and the complete opposite of the overly “put on,” announcer-type voices that came before it.
If you grew up in the early 2000s, you probably remember this shift. Krasinski did commercials for many companies around this time that flipped the script for traditional advertising.
Ads used to feature loud, expressive voices that excitedly announced their new products as if they were talking at you WITH CAPS LOCK ON.
Then came along John Krasinski. Not necessarily as Jim Halpert the character, but with the same relaxed, conversational energy that made Jim so lovable.
Instead of sounding like an announcer, he sounded like a real, relatable person. The result was an ad that came across more like a friend sharing about a product or service they loved, rather than someone trying to sell you something.
It resonated. It felt authentic, comfortable, and natural, and so it stuck.
That style spread quickly through advertising and media, and before long it became the voice everyone wanted.
When Comfortable Becomes Playing it Too Safe
Ultimately though, this may have shaped a generation of people who are hesitant to be loud, expressive, or "theatrical," because they see those qualities as inauthentic.
Now to clarify, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to sound approachable. It’s one of the many qualities that I encourage in speakers. But somewhere along the way, many millennials settled into a communication style that feels safe: conversational, understated, and intentionally restrained.
And they’ve become so accustomed to this style that it’s their default, even in situations that call for more energy or passion.
When someone tells me that they want to be a more engaging speaker, I’ll usually work with them on bringing in more vocal variety and more personality to their voice.
We’ll focus on making their presence a little bigger and a little brighter.
The goal is for them to get comfortable fully inhabiting space when they speak, so that they can bridge that psychological distance between themselves and their audience.
But millennials specifically seem to resist that shift, and this Tawny clip was a lightbulb moment for me.
For millennials, that flat, casual Jim Halpert affect is our safe space. I’ve been guilty of this myself, and I have to be very intentional about accessing a more captivating energy that can reach the person in the back row and make me more interesting than whatever is on people’s phones.
We need to talk about this! Because I’m not about to tell you to adopt a persona that doesn’t fit, but I’m VERY passionate about discarding attitudes that no longer serve you.
The Problem With The Millennial Voice
The thing about “straight man” characters like Jim is that their function is to serve as a neutral background for the comedic characters.
Yes, he’s a great character in combination with everyone else around him. But there’s nothing particularly interesting about Jim. Nobody would watch a show that’s just about Jim being Jim. His character relies on letting everyone else’s quirks bounce off of him.
So if you’re trying to be engaging, Jim Halpert isn’t the role model you’re looking for.
Try Experimenting
To my fellow millennials, and anyone else really who finds themselves in a default monotone voice that isn’t being truly heard, let me issue you a challenge: try stepping outside of your comfort zone a little. Try not being Jim for a while.
Get a little excited about your topic, and let it show. Dial your energy up by 10% or more.
Remember, The Office wasn’t the only cultural influence we can claim. There’s also this:
Make space for your personality to shine through. Remember, the Jim Halpert vibe isn’t who you are; it’s who you’ve been taught to be.
Being approachable is still an important part of being a good speaker. But if you’re suppressing your unique voice and behaving like a disaffected millennial in a sea of disaffected millennials, you’re not going to stand out.
The best speakers are the ones who allow their personality, excitement, and ideas to come through without apologizing for them.
So if you've been hiding behind a "safe" version of yourself, it might be time to experiment with something new.
Your audience deserves it (and so do you)!
