Andy holds a seminar for small businesses, which is really just a ploy to increase his sales. He's forced to scramble after Jim, Dwight, and Phyllis back out as speakers. Erin competes against Gabe in a Scrabble phone game, and Pam and Oscar try to help her. Michael meets a rather familiar-acting Englishman.
Tropes:
- Aside Glance: Kelly looks directly into the camera when she introduces herself at the seminar under her newly-adopted branding of "Kelly Kapoor, The Business Bitch."
- Birds of a Feather: Unsurprisingly, David Brent and Michael Scott get along almost immediately upon meeting.
- Call-Back: When comparing notes with David Brent, Michael mentions Ping, his extremely offensive Asian Speekee Engrish character seen in Season 2's "The Dundies", while David brings up his similar character Ho Lee Fuk.
- The Cameo: Ricky Gervais makes an uncredited one as David Brent.
- Didn't Think This Through: Kevin opens his seminar presentation with a whole routine where he runs around the conference room to "Crazy Train" while eating a sandwich. When it's time for the speech, he's out of breath and sick to his stomach.
- Expy Coexistence: Michael meets David Brent, the character he's based on from the original British show that The Office is based on.
- Future Me Scares Me: Invoked by Kevin when Andy asks him to replace Jim at the seminar.Kevin: Andy, I'm not Jim. The only way that I'm Jim is in the movie version when Jim sees what his future would be like if he never met Pam.
- The Glomp: Michael is so impressed when David Brent says "that's what she said" he reacts this way.
- Hollywood Board Games: Brainless Beauty Erin plays a Scrabble phone game with her Abhorrent Admirer Gabe. Seeing that she lacks the vocabulary to win the game, Pam and Oscar attempt to help her.
- Intra-Franchise Crossover: In the cold open, Michael bumps into David Brent from the UK version and they bond immediately over their shared love of inappropriate humor.
- I Want My Jetpack: Jim's old classmate Tom corners him in the break room and takes obvious satisfaction over the guy who'd called him "dumb" as a kid working as a paper salesman.Tom: Where's your jetpack, Zuckerberg?
- Scrabble Babble: Erin unknowingly passes up actual words in the Scrabble game to play nonexistent words like "jlp".
- Vomit Discretion Shot: When Kevin throws up during his seminar speech, he thankfully pulls the waste basket up to his face so we don't see anything.
- We Used to Be Friends: When Jim recognizes one of the seminar attendees as his elementary school classmate Tom, he tells Andy he can't speak at the seminar. Turns out Tom has harbored a lifelong resentment towards Jim after Jim inadvertently insulted him as a child.
- Word Salad Philosophy: Creed's attempt at a motivational speech at the seminar naturally devolves into this.Creed: Two eyes, two ears, a chin, a mouth, ten fingers, two nipples. A butt, two kneecaps, a penis. I have just described to you the Loch Ness Monster. And the reward for its capture? All the riches in Scotland. So I have one question: Why are you here?
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Darryl and Michael both give pep talks to Andy encouraging him to close the deal with the seminar attendees.
