Ace Coach

How long is a 3,000-word speech?

A 3,000-word speech takes 20 min 41 s at a typical presentation pace of 145 words per minute.

By the Ace Coach team, built with the best speech coaches · Updated · How we write

Time at different paces

PaceRateTime
Slow120 wpm25 min
Lecture145 wpm20 min 41 s
TED talk169 wpm17 min 45 s

Paces come from measured averages: about 145 words per minute in university lectures and 169 in TED talks (Wingrove, 2017).

What fits in this length

A twenty-minute keynote or conference session.

Twenty minutes is long to hold a room alone. Add a story, a question or a demo every few minutes.

Check your own pace

Everyone's pace is different, and most people speed up when they're nervous. Time yourself reading one paragraph of your script out loud, or use how fast do I talk for a 60-second test. Then plug your number into the speech time calculator.

Other lengths

Rehearse it out loud.

Ace Coach is an AI speaking coach. It listens to your answer, watches your delivery and tells you the one thing to fix next.

Get the app

Keep practicing

Speech time calculatorHow to memorize a speechPublic speaking practiceHow to stop talking too fast