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How many words is a 2–3 minute speech?

A 2–3 minute speech is 290–435 words at a typical presentation pace of 145 words per minute. Aim for about 363.

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

Words at different paces

PaceRateWords
Slow120 wpm240–360 words
Lecture145 wpm290–435 words
TED talk169 wpm338–507 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

A short toast, a class update, or a two-part interview answer.

Aim for about 360 words. Rehearse it out loud with a timer: if you finish under two minutes, you're rushing.

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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