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Aquick guide for slow, average and fast rates of speech
By:Susan Dugdale| Last modified: 02-12-2023
Ifyou're preparing a speech or presentation with a strict time limit it’s useful tohave an estimate of the number of words you’ll need to fit thenumber of minutes you've been given.
And it's even more useful to have those guidelines before you rush into writing,only to discover when you’re done, you’ve written far too much.Something I used to do on a regular basis! (And then, I had thetedious job of pruning to fit.)
What's on this page:
- How many words are there in a 1-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 2-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 3-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 4-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 5-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 6-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 7-minute speech?
- How many words are there in an 8-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 9-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 10-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 15-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 20-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 25-minute speech?
- How many words are there in a 30-minute speech?
- How to calculate your own speech rate: 2 easy methods
- How many pages is a 4, 7 or 20-minute speech?
About this quick reference guide
Thefollowing table (below) shows the average number of words per minute speaking for speeches from 1 to 30 minutes long. It's a quick reference guide: one only intended to provide general information.
Who, and what, is truly average?
Anaverage word count for any timed speech (one minute, twominutes, three, four, five, six...or more, minutes) is impossible togive. As there really is no such thing as an average person, who uses an average rate of words per minute when they speak.
We are individuals: each of usdifferent. Speech patterns and speech (speaking) rates vary considerably betweenperson to person for a great many reasons. The best you’ll ever getis an educated guess.
Use as an estimate: test yourself to be sure
That aside, the following estimates will give you a handy indication of the number of minutes it takes to say x number of words depending on whether you talk at a slow speed, a medium speed or you're one of the world's fast talkers.
(And, no, it's never a good idea to gabble at a mile a minute to fit everything you've prepared into the length of time you've been given!)
To be absolutely sure what you've done will fit the time allocation you've been given it's a good idea to test yourself to establish your own speaking rate or speed of speech.
How many pages is a 'x' minute speech?
Multiple variations on the question how many pages are needed for a speech are frequently asked. For instance:
- How many pages is a 4-minute speech?
- How many pages is a 7-minute speech?
- How many pages is a 20-minute presentation?
Unfortunately, the answer is not simple. Calculating the number of A4 pages of text you need for a speech of any number of minutes long is tricky for two reasons.
How many words are on an A4 page?
The first reason is that the number of words on an A4 page depends on how the page has been formatted. The answers to the questions below make a very big difference to the total number of pages needed to print a speech.
- What is the font family being used? (Different fonts take up differing amounts of space because of the shape/design of their characters.)
- What is the size of the font? (The font size you're reading right now is 20px.)
- What is the spacing between each of the letters in a word?
- What is the spacing between each line of text? Is it single spacing, 1.5 or double line spacing?
- What spacing has been set for paragraphs?
- What size have the margins of the page been set at?
- Are there headings? Sub-headings or lists?
On average if the font is plain, (sans-serif, without embellishment), like Arial or Verdana, its size is set for 12px, and the line spacing is set for 1.5, then a page may have between 400-500 words on it.
Speech rate changes how we calculate the number of words we need
The second reason why using the number of pages to gauge how long a speech will take to deliver is problematical is because we speak at different rates.
A 500-word page may take someone speaking at very slow rate 4 minutes to get through.
Another person, who has a much faster speaking rate, may take about 2.5 minutes to deliver exactly the same text.
Using the number of pages as a guide for a speech that has to fit a time limit is completely unreliable.
If you need to use a 'guesstimate' use the speech rate table below. Forget about counting the pages!
Howmany words are there in a 1-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker, less than 120 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 120 - 160 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 160 - 200 words.
Howmany words are there in a 2-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker less than 240 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 240 - 320 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 320 - 400 words.
Howmany words are there in a 3-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker less than 360 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 360 – 480 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 480 - 600 words.
Howmany words are there in a 4-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker less than 480 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 480 – 640 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 640 - 800 words.
Howmany words are there in a 5-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker less than 600 words,
If you speak at an average speed between: 600 – 760 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 760 - 1000 words.
Howmany words are there in a 6-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker less than 720 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 720 – 960 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 960 - 1200 words.
Howmany words are there in a 7-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker less than 840 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 840 – 1120 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 1120 - 1400 words.
Howmany words are there in an 8-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker less than 960 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 960 – 1280 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 1280 - 1600 words.
Howmany words are there in a 9-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker less than 1080 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 1080 – 1440 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 1440 - 1800 words.
Howmany words are there in a 10-minute speech?
If youare a slow speaker a little less than 1200 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 1200 – 1600 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 1600 - 2000 words.
How many words are there in a 15-minute speech?
If you are a slow speaker, a little less than 1,800 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 1,800 - 2,400 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 2,400 - 3,000 words.
How many words are there in a 20-minute speech?
If you are a slow speaker, a little less than 2,400 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 2,400 - 3,200 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 3,200 - 4,000 words.
How many words are there in a 25-minute speech?
If you are a slow speaker, a little less than 3,000 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 3,000 - 4,000 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 4,000 - 5,000 words.
How many words are there in a 30-minute speech?
If you are a slow speaker, a little less than 3,600 words.
If you speak at an average speed between: 3,600 - 4,800 words.
If you are a fast speaker between: 4,800 - 6,000 words.
Find out more about speech rate
- How tocalculate your own words per minute speech rate - two easy methods
- The factors influencing a faster rate or slower rateof speech
- How to develop an ideal rate of speech: one matching content,speech purpose and your audience: six exercises for flexible speakingrate
Words per minute calculator
Lastlyhere's the link to a useful online words per minutes calculator. Onceyou've completed your speech enter the total number of words, andselect whether you want it to give you an average for a minute ofyour speech at a slow rate, average or fast rate. Again, it's a'guesstimate'. ☺
The only really safe way to find out whether yourspeech fits your time allocation is to say it aloud at an ideal rate or pace: one taking into account the content, and the audience who isgoing to listen to it, while timing it.
(Use the record function on your phone. It will assist in lots of other ways too! You'll hear where you need more vocal variety, where your pronunciation is blurred ...and, so on. It's super helpful.)
FAQs
How many words per minute should you say in a speech? ›
The general rule for speech giving is 100 to 200 words per minute. With this in mind, a 10-minute speech would require 1,000 to 2,000 words.
Is 500 words enough for a 5-minute speech? ›How many words do I need for a five-minute speech? If you have given a time limit for a speech, then it means that you need to adhere to it. You may ask yourself how many words is a 5-minute speech? Based on the table above, it should be around 500 to 750 words.
How many words are needed for a 30 minute speech? ›Answer: At the normal speaking rate of 130 words per minute (wpm), a 30 minutes long speech will have about 3,900 words .
How many words is a 7 minute speech? ›Most speakers have 780 – 1020 words in a 7 minute speech, with the average at ~840 words.
What is a fast rate of speech? ›Conversational: between 120 wpm and 150 wpm. Fast: more than 160 wpm. Radio hosts and podcasters speak at 150–160 wpm. Auctioneers and commentators speak between 250 to 400 wpm.
What is ideal rate of speech? ›Most experts agree that the ideal rate of speech is between one hundred and forty to hundred and eighty words per minute, generally known as WPM – Words Per Minute. At this rate of speech, your audience would be able to listen to and follow your speech.
Is speaking 200 words a minute fast? ›Slow speech is usually regarded as less than 110 wpm, or words per minute. Conversational speech generally falls between 120 wpm at the slow end, to 160 - 200 wpm in the fast range. People who read books for radio or podcasts are often asked to speak at 150-160 wpm.
How long is 3 minute speech? ›On average there are 450 words in a 3 minute speech. This is based on the average speech rate of 250 words per minute. At the 3 minute mark, even a novice speaker could keep going at the rate they started – with some practice.
How long does it take to say 300 words in a speech? ›Speech and publication coach Daphne Gray-Grant found that, on average, people speak at a rate of 125 to 150 wpm so a 2 minutes long speech uses between 250 to 300 words. You can use our word counter tool to see how long on average your text will take to speak.
Is 600 words enough for a 5 minute speech? ›The 5-minute speech word count is roughly 750 words. This is based on the average talking speed of 150 words per minute (WPM). Of course, the timing of your speech will vary depending on how quickly you talk, as well as the words that you use.
How many words is a 5 minute speech fast? ›
How many words is a 5 minute speech? A speaker with an average speaking speed will need 700 words for a 5 minutes speech. A fast speaker will need 850 words for the same speech length. A slow speaker will only need 550 words.
How many words is a 5 minute speech? ›750 words is 5 minutes of speaking time.
Is speaking 100 words a minute fast? ›SPEECH RATE ACCORDING TO WPMs
Slow: 110 wpm or less. Conversational: 120 wpm - 150 wpm. Fast: 160 wpm or more.
Speech rate guidelines
Slow speech is usually regarded as less than 110 wpm, or words per minute. Conversational speech generally falls between 120 wpm at the slow end, to 160 - 200 wpm in the fast range. People who read books for radio or podcasts are often asked to speak at 150-160 wpm.
Based on the average speed of speech, there are 150 words in a 1 minute speech. How many words are there in a 2 minute speech? There are 300 words per minute in a 2 minute speech. 2 minutes isn't a long time so when you speak, you could endure the average speaking rate.