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How many words is a 1–2 minute speech?

A 1–2 minute speech is 145–290 words at a typical presentation pace of 145 words per minute. Aim for about 218.

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

Words at different paces

PaceRateWords
Slow120 wpm120–240 words
Lecture145 wpm145–290 words
TED talk169 wpm169–338 words

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

Word counts for common time ranges

Speech slots are often given as a range, like “3 to 5 minutes”. Aim for the middle column, which assumes a typical 145 words per minute.

LengthWords at 145 wpmSlow to TED pace
1–2 minutes145–290120–338
2–3 minutes290–435240–507
3–5 minutes435–725360–845
5–7 minutes725–1,015600–1,183
7–10 minutes1,015–1,450840–1,690
10–15 minutes1,450–2,1751,200–2,535
15–20 minutes2,175–2,9001,800–3,380
20–30 minutes2,900–4,3502,400–5,070

What fits in this length

An elevator pitch, a self-introduction, or an answer to “Tell me about yourself”.

Write for the middle, about 220 words. Under pressure most people speed up, so a 90-second script lands safely inside the slot.

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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