How speaking time is calculated
Speaking time is the word count divided by your pace in words per minute, plus any pauses. Most people speak at about 130 to 150 words per minute in a talk or presentation. Conversation can be faster, and a slow, careful pace for a large audience can be closer to 110. The default here is 130 words per minute.
Speaking pace
| Pace | Words per minute (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Slow, for emphasis or a large room | 110 |
| Conversational | 130 |
| Presentation | 150 |
| Fast | 170 |
How many words for a speech of a given length
| Speech length | Words at 130 to 150 per minute |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | 130 to 150 |
| 2 minutes | 260 to 300 |
| 3 minutes | 390 to 450 |
| 5 minutes | 650 to 750 |
| 10 minutes | 1,300 to 1,500 |
| 15 minutes | 1,950 to 2,250 |
| 20 minutes | 2,600 to 3,000 |
Use a target time
Enter the number of minutes you have in Target speech length. The tool tells you how many words fit at your pace, and how many words you need to cut or can still add.
Allow for pauses and slides
A speech with pauses, jokes, questions to the audience or slide changes takes longer than the same words read in one go. Use the pause setting to add a few seconds between paragraphs. Then say your speech aloud once with a timer, because everyone has their own pace.
Related tools
For text that people read rather than hear, use the reading time calculator. Count your words with the word counter, or count sentences to check that your lines are short enough to say in one breath. The word count guide has more on counting.