Dining rooms with rizz, museums that slay and waiting areas giving zen: How businesses are wooing Gen-Z with very demure, very mindful slang

Have you ever stayed in a B&B that had a “very deliberate, very understated” vibe? Or eaten in a restaurant full of rizz recently?

If you don’t know what these cutting-edge terms mean, you’re not alone.

TikTok users have recently been inundated with videos of confused middle-aged people reading out a “Gen Z script” full of confusing slang.

Companies are trying to attract younger generations via social media by capitalizing on the trend: older staff members describe rooms that have charisma and museums that are fantastic.

Employees claim their waiting rooms are “zen,” according to their scripts. The bewildered workers speak in a blank voice and gesture half-heartedly around them, staring blankly into the camera.

The 26-year-old’s mother said she just ‘did what she was told’ and was ‘amazed’ by the results

The trend seems to have originated in a promotional video for Fyfield Manor in Oxfordshire, but it now seems like every business in the world is embracing the trend.

The comical video, which has been viewed more than 11 million times in four days, shows owner Christine Brown walking around the grounds of the 880-year-old B&B.

From a distance she can be seen in the dining room with Georgian paneling. According to her, the dining room ‘understood’ the assignment. By that she means that the dining room does its job perfectly.

She goes on to say that the Victorian windows are understated and thoughtful, referencing a phrase that went viral on TikTok, which originated from a video by Jools Lebron explaining how to apply makeup appropriate for work.

According to The TimesThe daughter of the B&B owner came up with the idea for the video after seeing people filming their parents while they were going to the store and doing other everyday activities. Users found the video hilarious because of the quirks of the older generation.

This Boots employee described his branch as ‘slaying’ in a video

The video tried to include as many terms as possible, but was still understandable

Even a Specsavers store filmed a version – although the presenters are on the young side

The 26-year-old’s mother said she just “did what she was told” and was “amazed” by the results.

“I didn’t even know what those words meant!” she said.

From museums to farms, it seems no business can escape the trend, with varying degrees of success.

Many responded with praise in the form of other seemingly incomprehensible Gen Z slang – ‘reserve for my next menty b [mental breakdown] “Absolutely,” said one.

The most popular videos featured older buildings, such as the Beamish Museum in County Durham.

The presenter, dressed modestly in a three-piece suit and bowler hat, described the events as ‘lit’ (an old-fashioned slang word for ‘good’) and ‘GOAT’ (greatest of all time).

More modern terms included praise, saying that the tram ‘claps’ while the smell of the bakery ‘makes me happy’.

Even a Specsavers store filmed an employee saying the green decorations gave the building a ‘brat summer’ feel – despite the presenters themselves being quite young.

Lisa Hale, head of consumer PR at Specsavers, told The Times: ‘We have a team of social media experts who monitor emerging trends across our social media channels seven days a week. Tapping into trends is a really important tactic for brands, particularly those that aren’t in consumers’ everyday lives.’

Influencers posting about the National Gallery on Instagram or TikTok can make the gallery trendier and revive it as a popular hotspot

It follows the National Gallery hiring social media influencers to attract Gen Z visitors and bring its art to new audiences.

To attract younger visitors, the central London attraction is using content creators to promote its work through a series of videos.

To celebrate its 200th anniversary, the gallery donated £4,000 to 20 influential people, including artists, comedians and historians.

Other contestants include former contestants from BBC’s RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Great British Bake Off.

The National Gallery’s social media and community manager told The Times that she believes Gen Z are more likely to visit the gallery if they see collections posted on accounts from content creators they trust, rather than if they ‘try hard’.

Influencers posting about it on Instagram or TikTok can make the gallery trendy and revive it as a popular hotspot.

It could also give the National Gallery an edge over rivals with a more ‘accessible’ image, such as the Tate Modern.