How long is a 400-word speech?

A 400-word speech takes 2 min 46 s at a typical presentation pace of 145 words per minute.

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

Time at different paces

PaceRateTime
Slow120 wpm3 min 20 s
Lecture145 wpm2 min 46 s
TED talk169 wpm2 min 22 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 wedding toast, a class presentation segment, or a short eulogy.

Write it in three parts, each with one line you'd want repeated.

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.

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