Ace 
By the Ace Coach team, built with the best speech coaches · Updated
Words at different paces
| Pace | Rate | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Slow | 120 wpm | 600 words |
| Lecture | 145 wpm | 725 words |
| TED talk | 169 wpm | 845 words |
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 best man speech, a lightning talk, or a short presentation.
Five minutes is usually 3 to 5 slides, not 15. Let each one carry a single idea.
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.
How to memorize a speech
Public speaking practice
How to stop talking too fast