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How many words is a 7–10 minute speech?

A 7–10 minute speech is 1,015–1,450 words at a typical presentation pace of 145 words per minute. Aim for about 1,233.

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

Words at different paces

PaceRateWords
Slow120 wpm840–1,200 words
Lecture145 wpm1,015–1,450 words
TED talk169 wpm1,183–1,690 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 class presentation, a team update with slides, or a short conference talk.

Write about 1,230 words and mark a halfway point in your notes, so you know on the day whether you're on time.

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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