Public Speaking: Plan, Rehearse and Deliver

By the Ace Coach team, built with the best speech coaches · Updated October 25, 2026 · How we write

Choose your problem

I don't know how long my speech will run
My talk feels shapeless
I blank on my lines
I get too nervous to speak well

Start here

How to overcome the fear of public speakingIf nerves are stopping you from rehearsing, start with this guide.

What a fix sounds like

Illustrative example.

First take

“Hi everyone, so, um, today I'm going to talk a bit about our quarterly results and some of the things we've been working on…”

After “Open with the point”

“We grew 18% this quarter, and one change drove most of it. Let me show you which.”

1. Plan the length

For a first draft, use 145 words per minute as a planning estimate, close to the average measured in university lectures; TED talks in the same study ran faster (Wingrove, 2017). Five minutes gives you about 725 words. Then time a full rehearsal, including pauses and audience reactions, and adjust the script to fit.

2. Build a structure people can follow

Open with your point, not a warm-up. Use three parts at most, and tell the audience what they are early. Close by repeating the one line you want people to remember. Every part should earn its time: if you can cut a section and the point still lands, cut it.

3. Rehearse by recalling, not rereading

In a study of prose passages, students who practiced recalling the material remembered more on delayed tests than students who reread it (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006). Close the script, say each section from memory, then check what you missed.

Learn the meaning first. Research on actors describes learning through the meaning and purpose of each line, and in one experiment the paper reviews, students who imagined communicating the material to someone who needed it remembered more than students told to memorize it (Noice and Noice, 2006). Memorize your opening, key lines and close word for word; keep the rest as an outline.

4. Deliver with nerves on your side

You're not unusual. When researchers surveyed 815 college students, public speaking was checked as a fear more often than anything else (Dwyer and Davidson, 2012).

Two things help. Say “I am excited” instead of trying to calm down: in experiments that included a public speech, people who reframed their nerves as excitement performed better (Brooks, 2014). And build up gradually: a meta-analysis of 11 studies found that exposure therapy with real or virtual audiences reduced public-speaking anxiety compared with control conditions (*Behavior Modification*, 2021). For your rehearsals, start with a manageable audience and make the setting more like the real talk each time.

Guides in this topic

How to overcome the fear of public speaking: More reps, a different word for the nerves, and a first minute you know cold.
How to memorize a speech: Memorize the order of ideas and a few exact lines, by recalling out loud.

FAQ

How many words is a 5-minute speech?

About 725 words at 145 words per minute, a typical presentation pace. At a slower 120 words per minute it's 600 words; at a TED-talk pace of 169 it's about 845.

Should I memorize a speech word for word?

Only the opening, the key lines and the close. Keep the rest as an outline you can say from memory. Word-for-word scripts tend to break the moment you lose one line.

How do I stop being nervous before a presentation?

Don't try to switch the nerves off. Try describing the feeling as excitement, then practice in manageable steps: alone, with someone you trust, then in a setting closer to the real presentation.

How fast should I talk in a presentation?

Use about 145 words per minute to plan the length. On the day, slow down for numbers and your main point, and pause after them so the audience can keep up.

Public speaking and presentations, from plan to stage.