Reception
"Dwight's Speech" originally aired on NBC on the March 2, 2006. The episode received a 4.4 rating/10 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 4.4 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 9 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode was viewed by 8.4 million viewers, and retained 88 percent of its lead-in My Name is Earl audience. An encore presentation of the episode on August 15 received a 1.9 rating/6 percent share and was viewed by over 4.6 million viewers and retained 100 percent of its lead-in audience.
"Dwight's Speech" received mostly positive reviews. Michael Sciannamea of TV Squad wrote that he wonders if the Jim-Pam "will reach some sort of resolution or become a season-ending cliffhanger". Sciannamea also noted that "you know you're living in a Bizarro World when Dwight wins Dunder Mifflin's salesman of the year award." M. Giant of Television Without Pity graded the episode with an "A–." Francis Rizzo III of DVD Talk felt that Dwight's enlarged role was great, but noted that the episode was not as funny as his "strange behavior" in "The Injury." Betsy Bozdech of DVD Journal described "Dwight's Speech" as an instant classic. Not all reviews were so glowing. Brendan Babish of DVD Verdict felt that "Dwight's Speech" was "one of the few misfires" of the season, noting that it "certainly has laughs", but that "its humor is a bit too absurd compared to the show's usual riffs on office ennui". He ultimately gave the episode a "B–", but wrote that "Dwight's Speech" being the worst episode of the season was a "testament to the show's excellence."
IGN ranked the scene with Dwight making his speech as its third best moment in the first two seasons, and called Wilson performance a "hilariously spot-on impersonation of Mussolini's crazed arm movements." In addition, Rolling Stone named the same scene the eighteenth funniest scene in the first three seasons of The Office.
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