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Quick & easy tips for speaking rate

- how to pace your speech for maximum impact.

By:  Susan Dugdale   | Last modified: 02-03-2022

If you habitually speak too fast, or too slowly, and you want to communicate well it's time to learn more about adapting your rate of speech to meet the needs of your audience and your content.

What you'll find on this page:

• an overview of the result of speaking too fast or too slowly
• w hy flexible speaking rates have more impact
• how speech rate is interpreted
• 6 exercises to develop an effective speaking rate
• links to more articles on speech rate : how to calculate it - 2 easy methods and a quick reference guide on the average number of words per minute in speeches 1 through to 10 minutes long.  

 You need these tips if you speak too quickly

If you've ever been called a motor-mouth, you'll know it's because the words rocket out of your mouth.

Maybe you have so many ideas you want to share, and maybe you need to get them out quickly because there are so many more coming up fast behind them!

It's fun and exciting to listen to fast speech, for a while.  However when your speech stops being stimulating and starts being uncomfortable, ears switch off.

And you need them if you speak too slowly

Slow word-by-very-slow-word turns ears off too.

People wait-and-wait for you to get on with it, eventually losing interest.

The answer is variety - developing a flexible speaking rate

The solution to the speaking too fast or too slowly problem is not the middle ground. Rather it is to vary your speaking rate: to match it to meet the needs of your audience and, your content.

Let's imagine your speech as a journey

Picture in your mind the layout of your speech.

You'll have an introduction, followed by a series of main ideas with supporting examples or illustrations. To finish there'll be a conclusion.

Now think of the thread, (the theme, the main ideas), linking it altogether.

That thread is similar to a road.  When you give a speech you are taking your audience on a journey, a road trip.

Your mouth is the vehicle carrying both your message and your audience along.  And you are its driver.

You are in complete control of how you deliver, or drive your speech from beginning to end.

Making choices on how you deliver your speech

As the driver you make choices affecting your message, and your audience.

Choosing to deliver your speech too fast

You can whirl them through your speech so fast the scenery blurs. So while you're busy negotiating a series of complicated hair pin bends at full throttle, that is rattling off a complex series of ideas with examples, your poor audience is gazing out the back window trying to work out what they've missed and where they are.

One by one your listeners will get dizzy and exhausted through the effort they're making to keep up with you. Then they'll close off their ears and sit quietly waiting for the ride to stop.

Choosing to speak too slowly

Or by contrast you can proceed so cautiously your passengers want to get out and walk. Listening to your speech is pure tedium.

Becoming a responsive speaker

If you were a responsive driver (speaker) you would be continually adjusting your speed to meet the road conditions (your speech content) and the needs of your passengers (audience).

There would be places to slow and perhaps even stop for the audience to catch their breath. There would also be places where a quick burst of acceleration would give an exciting thrill.

Interpreting speech rate

A FASTER speaking speed signals urgency, excitement, passion or raw emotion. 

In contrast a SLOWER speaking rate signals importance, seriousness or significant ideas. Slow says: 'LISTEN UP! YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS.'

A new concept or complex information may need to be delivered slowly to give the audience time to grasp it before moving on. 'Slow' is also useful for summarizing material.

The combination of slow, fast, and medium speeds makes your speech easier to listen to.

Negative connotations of going too fast or too slow 

Both fast and slow rates of speech can be interpreted negatively by those listening to it.

Speaking too quickly could be seen as evidence of anxiety or fear.

Speaking too slowly could be interpreted as a lack of intelligence or, a lack of knowledge about the speech subject.  

6 exercises to develop flexible speaking rate

1. reading children's stories.

Read a children's story silently several times to familiarize yourself with the flow. Go through it again noting which passages would suit taking more quickly and which should be slower. Then read it aloud and listen carefully to how speed alters interpretation. Repeat the exercise altering your speed over particular passages, noting the differences.

Record yourself if possible doing this and all the following exercises. Save all the versions you do. You'll then have them to refer back to. Recording takes out the guess work as you can hear exactly what you did, rather than what you imagined you did. It doesn't lie!

2. Read factual reports

Pick an information loaded report from a newspaper or magazine.

Go through it silently to familiarize yourself with the flow of material and then read it aloud. Make a note of which passages need careful or slow reading and which can be taken at a faster rate. Re-read aloud until you feel you have the mix of speeds right.

As an extension exercise read the report as if you were reading for an audience who knew nothing about the subject. Note what changes you made and why.

3. Experiment with one of your own speeches

Record and time yourself delivering a speech of your own at your current 'normal' speaking rate.

Note the time down. Now go through again having marked passages for slower or faster treatment. Note the new time and your new insights.

4. Practice with a partner

Practice with a partner. Go through any of the exercises above. Explain what you doing and ask them to listen for effectiveness. Get them to note examples where you did well and where you needed to alter your speech rate and why.

5. Listen to good speakers

Listen to speakers you admire. They could be radio presenters, preachers ... anybody accustomed to speaking in public. Note the different rates of speech they use over the course of their presentation and the effectiveness and experiment with them for yourself.

6. Play with material you are familiar with 

Read or recite part of a text you know well quickly (or slowly). If you can record yourself, do so. If not, listen and note the effect it has on you. If you've recorded yourself, play it back. Ask yourself where was the speed effective? Where was it detrimental? Mark those places on your script. Read again incorporating your changes.

Exercise patience

And lastly, be patient with yourself. Changing your normal speaking rate is challenging. The habitual speed of words leaving our mouths is deeply ingrained. As children we are very effective sponges. We soak up everything around us, including the speech rates used by our significant adults. What was their normal speech speed becomes ours. It feels natural, comfortable and right!

Altering rate is not impossible but it does require awareness, effort and PRACTICE!

Related pages:

Developing a flexible speech rate is only PART of the skill set used by a successful speaker. You can put more in your tool box.

The magic of silence

Remember the image of your mouth as the driver? When your tongue is high revving, it's accelerating away. When you're stuck in first gear, it's crawling forward one little word at a time.

Now you've got control over rate, it's time to turn your attention to the brakes. Skilled use of the brakes are the key to effective silence.

Find out how to use the  Power of the Pause .

PS. More on speaking rate!

Did you know the average 'natural' (ordinary conversational speech) speaking rate ranges between approximately 130-200 words per minute?

Speaking rate has multiple variations including regional and national. Listen to what is regarded as 'normal' to make any adjustments needed  before  you speak in public.  To find out more click  speech rate .

Speech rate and words per minute

When you have a speech to give with a strict time limit it's useful to have an estimate of how many words will fit comfortably into the time allocated, before you begin to write.

For more see:  How many words per minute in a speech: a quick reference guide  for 1 through to 10 minute speeches.  

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Introducing Speech Time Calculate

Estimate how many minutes your speeches, presentations, and voice-over scripts will take based on your words per minute rate!

How To Speech Time Calculate Using This Tool?

If you have a certain number of words or a piece of text you want to time, you can either type in the word count or paste the text into the provided area. This tool will then calculate how long it would take to read that text out loud.

The talk time estimate is calculated using the average speaking speed of adults, which is determined to be 183 words per minute based on scientific studies. If you’re interested in how long it would take to read silently, it’s estimated at 238 words per minute ( This data is also backed by research )

You can adjust the slider to change the words per minute value, which will affect the talk time estimate. However, the silent reading time estimate remains fixed at 238 words per minute.

For ease of use, we’ve also provided reference points for slow, average, and fast reading rates below the slider.

To begin anew, simply click the ‘clear text’ button to erase the content and restore the slider back to its original setting of 183.

Who is This Words to Minutes Converter Tool For?

If you are a student wondering how long is my essay or you’ve been tasked with writing a speech and need to know how many words to aim for and how many minutes will it take to deliver or perhaps you are a podcaster, just starting out, who wants the ability to easily synchronize music and spoken word without having to painstakingly calculate seconds between them, then this Speech Time Calculate is precisely for you!

From now on, instead of spending long hours in front of the computer trying to figure out how many seconds it takes for one phrase or section of dialogue to end and another to begin, you can let our innovative tool do all the work and convert your text to time quickly and accurately. With this powerful tool at your disposal, whether you’re giving a TED talk or just need to nail a business presentation, your life will become a little bit easier.

So keep reading to learn more about what this fantastic words to minutes converter has in store for public speakers, aspiring students, and professional radio producers alike!

Whether you want to read the text silently or speak aloud, you can use this tool as both:

• Reading time calculator
• Talk time calculator

Explanation of the Reading Time

Reading time refers to the duration it takes for an average person to read a written text silently while still comprehending its content. Based on an extensive analysis of 190 studies that involved 18,573 participants , research conducted by Marc Brysbaert in 2019 suggests that the typical silent reading speed for an adult individual is approximately 238 words per minute .

To convert word count to read time for a specific text, you can do so by dividing the total word count of the text by this established value of 238. Here is the mathematical equation for determining the duration of reading time in minutes:

Reading Time = Total Word Count / 238

Explanation of the Speech Time

Speech time refers to the duration it takes for an average person to read a text out loud. Based on data from 77 studies involving 5,965 people , it’s been found that most adults read aloud at a speed of approximately 183 words per minute ( research conducted by Marc Brysbaert in 2019 ). To figure out how long it will take to read a specific piece of text aloud, you can divide the total number of words in the text by this average rate of 183 words per minute.

Of course, it’s important to note that talk time can vary depending on factors such as clarity of speech, pauses for emphasis, and use of visual aids. However, using this tool for converting the number of words to minutes can still provide a helpful guideline for planning and practicing your presentation. By having a better understanding of speech rates, you can ensure that your message is delivered effectively and efficiently.

Benefits of Using a Speech Time Calculate

Time management in presentations.

Effective time management during presentations is crucial to ensure the audience remains engaged and the information is accurately conveyed. This is where our words to speaking time converter comes in handy. By using this tool, presenters can easily determine how many words they need to include in their presentation to stay within the allotted time frame.

Not only does it help with time management, but it also ensures that the pacing of the presentation is consistent, making it easier for the audience to follow. With the use of this presentation time calculator, presenters can confidently deliver their presentations without the worry of running over time or rushing through it.

Estimated speech time for public speaking

Public speaking can be nerve-wracking, especially when you have too little or too much information to fill your time slot. You wonder only if there were an accurate public speaking time calculator available so that you could be able to allocate the appropriate amount of time to each section of your presentation, ensuring that you cover all the necessary points without rushing or going over time.

Effective pacing is key in ensuring your message is delivered with clarity and impact.

Most public speakers target an average of 130-150 words per minute for their spoken content, meaning you should aim to limit your speaking time to roughly one minute per 130-150 words. While this may take some practice to achieve, the end result is a confident, well-timed delivery that keeps your audience engaged from start to finish.

Remember, in public speaking, less is often more—take your time to breathe and emphasize key points. Your audience will appreciate your thoughtful and measured approach. For that, you can use this tool and adjust your words to speech time.

Accurate estimations for audiobooks and podcasts

As more and more people turn to audiobooks and podcasts for their entertainment and information needs, accurate estimations of listening time have become more important than ever. After all, there’s nothing worse than settling in for a quick listen only to find yourself trapped in a story that goes on for hours longer than you anticipated.

That’s why it’s great to see publishers and podcast producers taking estimated reading time seriously, providing listeners with the information they need to choose the right content for their schedule. Whether you’re looking for a quick listen on your daily commute or a lengthy distraction for a lazy Sunday afternoon, accurate estimations using this words to speak time calculator make it easier than ever to find the perfect content.

Some Popular Speech Times

how many words in a 2 minute speech

Almost 300 words

how many words in a 3 minute speech

Almost 450 words

how many words in a 4 minute speech

Almost 600 words

how many words in a 15 minute speech

Almost 2250 words

The speech time is calculated taking 150 words per minute as reference value

Common conversions (average speed)

How long does it take to read 500 words?

3.8 minutes

How long does it take to read 750 words?

5.8 minutes

How long does it take to read 1000 words?

7.7 minutes

How long does it take to read 1200 words?

9.2 minutes

How long does it take to read 1500 words?

11.5 minutes

How long does it take to read 1800 words?

13.8 minutes

How long does it take to read 2000 words?

15.4 minutes

How long does it take to read 3000 words?

23.1 minutes

As the world becomes more fast-paced, time is a precious commodity. Determining how long your script will take to read, whether for a presentation or a video, can make a significant difference in engaging and retaining your audience’s attention.

That’s where our Words to Time Converter comes in handy. It’s a valuable tool for anyone working in various professions, from broadcast journalists to teachers to executives. No matter the industry, time is of the essence, and knowing how long your speech or presentation will take is crucial for effective communication.

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Average Words Per Minute Speaking (15 Experts Examples)

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What is the average words per minute speaking rate?

According to the National Center for Voice and Speech , the average rate for English speakers in the US is about 150 wpm. The average speaking rate can change for your project. Especially some professionals are known to speak faster purposeful ly.

Average words per minute speaking rates vary for different jobs and projects:

As you can see, presentations and conversational word per minute rates are lower. Those are situations where we care deeply about being understood. But also we have pauses and body language to capture the attention. 

Ebook publishers recommend the 150-160 wpm, which is close to the maximum speaking rate that also ensures full comprehension. 

150-160 words per minute (WPM) is also recommended for podcasts, radio hosts, and even YouTubers. This should be average for an entire show, while some of the passages should use a faster speaking rate while others slower. A smart adjustment will break the monotony and increase listener engagement.

On the fastest spectrum, there are auctioneers and commentators. Their job is to increase the hype, convey passion, and trigger a lot of emotions. 

We also cover the topic of how fast should you talk on a recording in this podcast episode:

Examples of average words per minute speaking rates by public figures

Analyzing transcripts of great and popular TED talks given by public figures, we checked how fast they talk. Talks are linked so you can check them, and they cover a variety of topics.

For these 14 talks, the average speaking rate is 167 words per minute. 

The Steve Jobs talk was not delivered as part of a TED conference, but it is included on the TED website. Above all, it is an excellent example of attention capturing and message delivery.

The fastest talker on the list, Tony Robbins, still delivers his message with clarity, and we can understand what he is saying. He achieves this by clearly articulating his words and using a simple language. His clarity compensates for his speed.

Your’ words per minute speaking rate should be perfectly adjusted to how fast people can listen and comprehend. If it is going to be too fast, you are going to lose a listener. If you are going to be too slow, their thoughts will drift away. The words per minute rate on your project should be just right.

The obvious question now is what is the “right” work per minute rate. In this article, we will discuss statistics, real-life examples, and present recommendations for making the most engaging recording.

Most people can talk quite fast when needed. Stress and other factors also can make us speed up. But it is essential to focus and slow down to speak perfectly for our audience. But always speaking at the same rate can also be too monotonous.

Can you control how fast we speak?

Definitely yes. According to professional speech coach Joan Detz:

“President John F. Kennedy was a notoriously fast talker – often topping 200 words per minute. You certainly don’t want to be that extreme. But, in general, talking a bit fast is better than talking too slow. Why? Speed projects charisma. Slowness projects lethargy and can frustrate listeners.” – “It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It.”

But for his most famous speech, his 1961 Inaugural Address, he slowed down significantly. He slowed his usually high speaking rate down to below 100 wpm. JFK projected command, vigor, and charisma. 

He achieved this using short sentences and action words. He had a focused message and he coveying it in an active voice.

JFK’s words per minute count was “Just Right” for the moment and the audience. Being this a live speech, he had some tools we don’t. He could pause, use facial expressions and body language, and keep attention focused on him. 

We can’t do this effectively during a voice-over, but there are methods to capture attention and reach optimal words per minute.

Is the average words per minute speaking rate important?

In short, yes, it is very important. Your rate of speech has an impact on how the audience perceives you and your message.

The speed of our speech affects comprehension, clarity, and customer experience.

• Comprehension is essential if you want your audio to be satisfying to your listeners and, most importantly if you genuinely want to help them. Working on improving your comprehension ensures that people that came looking for your show will find the answers quickly and won’t have to search the web for better and more valuable materials.
• With clarity , you increase your listeners’ focus, and you can help them learn and get a better result with your call to action. Clarity will allow you to get rid of the filler words. It keeps you focused on the topic. You will quickly cut away the redundant materials. 
• Customer experience will get you more good reviews, recommendations, and sales in the long run. 

When you nail your target WPM, you will start improving your language. You will remove empty words that don’t enhance meaning. Words that get overused are: literally, really, just, wrap my head around, etc.

Improved language, more precise communication, and clearer message simply mean there is more value in your podcast for your listeners.

How to calculate your average words per minute speaking rate?

Words per minute (wpm) is the most common way used to determine a speaking rate.

The calculation is simple and obvious. Just take the number of spoken words and divide by the number of minutes it took you to deliver the speech.

Speaking Rate (WPM) = Total words / number of minutes

There is one more way to calculate the speaking rate, but since it is harder to figure, it is not as popular as WPM. This other way is syllables per minute (SPM), and you get it by dividing the number of syllables spoken by the length of a speech.

Speaking Rate (SPM) = Total syllables / number of minutes

Let’s review this short example of how those numbers differ and what they can tell us about our speech.

• Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
• Modern, sophisticated presenters using expressive vocabulary can project passion and enthusiasm, thus successfully increasing listeners’ engagement.

Both passages have 17 words. But the first one has 19 syllables while the second one has 45 syllables. If you speak them both at the same words per minute rate, the longer passage will appear faster because you are saying more.

Using shorter words can help you say more in the same amount of time without sounding rushed.

How to easily check your average words per minute speaking rate?

To do it exactly, you need to memorize a passage and record yourself. Make a few tries speaking faster and slower to get different WPMs and determine when you sound the best.

You can also approximate this by reading a passage. It, however, calculates reading and not speaking rate. The familiarity of the material can impact the reading rate, so take this under consideration.

Reading rate, however, can be useful if you will be relying a lot on the script.

What influences how fast you talk on your audio project?

Many factors influence how fast you can talk . The good thing is that you can easily control the majority of these factors and achieve the speed you need for the most significant impact. 

• Regular speaking rate – this is highly influenced by our culture, and how people talk around. Along with a speaking rate, also pronunciation gets shaped thought the course of our lives. Thankfully all this can be influenced by a conscious effort. 
• Fatigue – whenever you are tired, you will speak slower. This is a natural response of the brain that you slow down when you are tired. Not only speaking is impacted. The simple answer here is to schedule your recording sessions in advance so you will be well-rested.
• New and complex content – when you will be working off a script that was completed a long time ago and is no longer familiar to you and on top contains a lot of long and complicated words. You will deliver it much slower. To avoid it, simply rehearse before recording and simplify. You can streamline your recording but splitting long sentences and using a more straightforward language.

Alongside being relaxed and prepared, other techniques can also help you sound better. Even what you drink and at what time of the day you record your voice-over can have an impact. Check here for a full list of tips to sound better: vocal tips 

How to use pauses effectively for better content delivery?

Pauses are a great way to capture attention during a speech. You have to use them smartly and strategically to engage your audience fully. 

When you make natural pauses, you automatically slow down your average words per minute speaking rate. In return, you should get more clear delivery and capture listeners’ attention.

Using pauses during a recording is a bit different than when giving a live speech. For example, on a podcast, you can always remove unwanted stops and keep only those you wish to include.

In a recording, you should use pauses to:

• Indicate a change in tone or topic – use a pause if you want to change the mood from excitement to being more calm and reflective. Or use one if you will change what you are talking about and ease the progression of the story. Adding music can help with changing tone.
• Emphasize key points – if you are reaching a conclusion or discuss some turning point in your story, you can pause to show that a critical piece is going to be addressed. Use those pauses in each episode to highlight the value you are delivering.
• Improve clarity of your message – when you are getting into the most convoluted part of your episode, slow down. This will give time to your listeners to process and fully appreciate the most complex and difficult to follow part of your speech.

How to control your words per minute rate on your project?

Control your environment and record your project in a soundproofed recording room . Using a quiet studio and planning your recording sessions will allow you to avoid distractions. This will help you with your speaking rate since:

• Adding control removes stress – having a controlled environment, and the scheduled session will allow you to speak more freely as it will remove some pressure. This will enable you to talk faster.
• Controlling your environment removes distractions – a soundproofed room guarantees no outside noises will lose your focus and break your concentration.

Controlling your schedule and understanding how noisy is your surroundings can help you get better audio and speak at the desired WPM even if you don’t have a fully soundproofed studio. Simply follow our guidelines on how to record in a bad room .

Is it better to speak faster, or is it better to speak slower?

There is no gold standard. If you are anywhere between 140-170 WPM, you should sound great.

Generally, slower is more intelligible than faster speech. Appropriate pauses allow your audience time to digest what you’ve said and begin to process it. 

Instead of obsessing about WPM, make sure your overall delivery is on point.

Put additional effort into:

• Simplification – use simple language, eliminate filler words, remove complex vocabulary and phrases to become more understandable
• Clarity – focus on diction, removal of vocal inflection, sharp pronunciation, and breathing.

How to practice average words per minute speaking pace?

The simplest and most effective way to practice keeping a constant pace is by using a metronome. You can buy one online (it’s a cool office decoration) or simply download any free app for your phone.

The metronome’s role is to tick at a specific rate and provide you with a constant rhythm. This is just for practicing as if you would talk precisely to the beat of the metronome you would sound very monotone (like voice assistants do). 

But practicing with a metronome will help you to oscillate at your desired words per minute rate.

There are many free metronome apps for Apple and Android phones, so you won’t have any issues finding one (you don’t need the premium versions).

How to Use Rate of Speech Effectively?

There are two valuable studies to help you craft your voice that talk about precipitation formed based on a rate of speech.

• In 1976 psychologists looked at speech rate and persuasion and concluded that faster speakers (195 wpm) were more persuasive than slower speakers (102 wpm). The results of this study suggest that speech rate functions as a general cue that augments credibility. 
• However, in 1991 a study on rapid speech suggested a more complicated relationship. Researchers conclude that when messages were in general disagreement with the audience’s views (counter-attitudinal), fast-talking increased persuasion. On the other hand, when the audience inherently agreed with the message (pro-attitudinal), slow speech emerged as the most persuasive way of delivery.

There is only one thing to do: vary your speaking rate

Always vary your words per minute speaking rate within one recording.

Don’t deliver all the sentences at the same rate. It will improve your delivery, and allow you to convey both meaning and emotions. Adjust the speed to match what you want to project at the moment.

Varying your WPM will make your recording more interesting for the audience. Without pace variation, you will sound monotone.

Change your speed according to what you want your listeners to feel.

• Speaking fast expresses passion, urgency, excitement, and emotion
• Talking slow expresses importance, sadness, confusion, the seriousness of a point

Tip : There is one more trick I use to control better my talking speed. I manage how close or far I’m from my dynamic mic.

What Playback Speed Is Used for Podcasts?

Surveys show that one of the podcasting trends is that, an increasing number of listeners regularly use higher than 1x playback speed to listen to podcasts.

The podcast player Pocket Casts estimates the feature has saved its listeners a cumulative 2,849 years between 2015 and 2019.

It may be an indication that busy people actually may enjoy a bit higher than average WPM rate.

How long should your script be for the best words per minute impression?

From analyzing podcast listeners’ demographics and usage patterns, we know that people mostly listen to podcast shows lasting between 30 and 40 minutes.

Experiment and measure your time to find the best way for you but start with a script of about 150-160 words per minute. In this case, start and experiment with:

• 2000 words for 15 minutes episode
• 3000 words for 20 minutes episode
• 4500 words for 30 minutes episode

We know that people mostly listen to podcasts between 30 and 40 minutes, but also take under consideration their attention span.

TED talks aim to be about 18 minutes. According to TED’s chief Chris Anderson, it is “long enough to be serious and short enough to hold people’s attention.” 

Information have material simply is harder and harder to digest as it goes on, so it is less satisfying for the listeners.

It is essential to care about quality and user experience with controlling the WPM speed. There are also other ways to improve the quality of your show. Besides, words per minute control my two favorites are thorough idea research and getting the best podcasting gear .

In conclusion

• 150-160 words per minute rate is the most typical speed at which radio and podcast host speak
• Many good speakers on TED lecture also talk close to this rate
• There is no golden solution and many speakers successfully deliver messages speaking above this rate
• Vary your speaking rate to avoid becoming monotone
• Speak faster to show more excitement and enthusiasm and speak slower to show importance and focus
• Alongside WPM rate a good speaker should also focus on clarity and simplicity
• A most common technique to train speaking rate is practicing with a metronome
• If you want to speak clearly and at a constant rate make sure you are rested, prepared for the recording, familiar with the material and record in a controlled and soundproofed environment
• Currently, people often use faster playback speeds to listen to podcasts. Consider this trend and test out how your audience will react to you, talking 10-20% faster.

Did you measure you average words per minute speaking rate? What did you found to be most effective for your project?

About the Author

I'm the owner and creator of ImprovePodcast.com, the site dedicated to providing actionable solutions for podcast creators. My goal is helping people to develop their podcasts into effective marketing and sales tools.

Very helpful! Thanks. This will help me with my pacing and script preparation!

Very helpful. I’ve adjusted my words per minute based on this article! Thanks.

I have no idea when this was written, but it’s rare to be searching the internet for new and useful information. I searched for “How many words per minute for a podcast” hoping to come across something that I might be able to adapt to my question. Wow. This article is everything I was asking for and more. You list famous Ted Talk speakers (interesting my two favorite Simon and Tony are 170/180. I think I found my model). Thank you for the effort on this. I will subscribe to this site.

I’m always happy to help.

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Guide to Speaking Rates: How Many Words Per Minute Should Your Speech Be?

Ever find yourself grappling with the pace of your words during a presentation? You’re definitely not alone. It turns out, the average speaking rate for folks in the United States is about 150 words per minute – a little nugget of information that was a game-changer for me on my path to becoming more confident in public speaking .

In this article, we’re going to dive into everything from understanding different speech rates to fine-tuning your own rhythm , ensuring your next presentation strikes the perfect balance .

Stick around; you won’t want to miss these insights!

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

• Speaking at the right speed is crucial for keeping your audience engaged. The average speaking rate in the United States is about 150 words per minute. But, this can change based on who you’re talking to and what you’re saying.
• Different types of speeches need different speeds. For TED Talks, aim for around 163 words per minute to keep things interesting. Political speeches should be slower, at about 110-120 words per minute, to add weight to your words. Business presentations work best at a pace of about 140 words per minute.
• Your speaking rate can vary because of many reasons like where you’re from, how excited you are, or if you know a lot about the topic. Other big factors include how confident you feel and physical things like being tired or sick.
• You can get better at finding the right speed by practicing out loud with exercises and asking people for their honest thoughts on your speech style. Using tools like word counts helps plan how long your talk will be.
• Changing how fast or slow you speak during a presentation makes it more exciting and helps highlight important points. Slowing down when sharing something significant or speeding up when showing excitement keeps listeners interested.

Understanding Speaking Rates and Words per Minute

Understanding speaking rates involves grasping the concept of speaking rate and average reading speed, as well as identifying the factors that influence how fast or slow someone speaks.

Additionally, it’s important to understand the ideal speaking rate for different types of speeches such as TED Talks , political speeches , and business presentations .

What is speaking rate

Speaking rate is how fast or slow you talk, measured in words per minute . For example, the average speaking rate for English speakers in the United States is around 150 words per minute.

This number can change depending on who you are talking to or what you’re talking about. Some people naturally speak faster, while others take their time and speak more slowly.

The speed at which someone speaks can affect how well the audience understands and engages with the speech. Speaking too fast might confuse listeners, but going too slow might make them lose interest.

Knowing your ideal speaking pace helps keep your audience hooked and conveys your message effectively. Let’s look into why understanding this balance is crucial for public speakers of all levels.

Average reading speed

After introducing the concept of speaking rate, it’s essential to touch on the average reading speed . This is crucial because it sets a baseline for understanding how our speaking speed compares to how fast we read.

This table outlines different scenarios and the average or recommended words per minute for each. It helps us gauge how our reading speed compares to various speaking contexts. For instance, while the average conversation rate and general speeches pace are similar at about 150 words per minute, voiceovers tend to be much slower, at 75 words per minute. This comparison underscores how context affects the ideal speaking speed, showing us that effective communication is not just about what we say but also how fast we say it.

Factors that influence speaking rate

The pace we speak at is influenced by several factors, including our regional dialect, cultural background, and level of excitement . Other key influencers are our familiarity with the topic , our own confidence levels, and any existing anxiety or nervousness. Additionally, physical factors like fatigue, illness, or even the layout of the speaking space can also impact our speaking rate.

• Regional dialect and cultural background : The rhythm and intonation patterns associated with different dialects and cultures affect how fast or slow someone speaks.
• Level of excitement : When we’re excited or passionate about a topic, we tend to speak more quickly.
• Familiarity with the topic : If we’re very familiar with what we’re talking about, we might speak faster than if the subject matter is new to us.
• Confidence levels and anxiety : Higher confidence levels generally result in a faster speaking pace, whereas anxiety may cause someone to speak more slowly.
• Physical factors : Fatigue, illness, or environmental factors such as an uncomfortable speaking space can also influence speaking rate.

These variables show that many diverse aspects can affect how quickly or slowly someone speaks during a presentation or speech.

The Ideal Speaking Rate for Different Types of Speeches

TED Talks, political speeches, and business presentations each have their own ideal speaking rates to keep the audience engaged and effectively convey the message. Varying your speaking rate is essential for captivating different audiences in these varied speech contexts.

TED Talks are renowned for their powerful, thought-provoking content. The ideal speaking rate for TED Talks is about 163 words per minute . This pace allows the speaker to convey their message clearly and engagingly, keeping the audience captivated throughout the talk.

It’s important to maintain a steady yet expressive speed while delivering a TED Talk to effectively communicate your ideas and connect with your audience.

– Political speeches

Political speeches

Political speeches should aim for a speaking rate of about 110-120 words per minute . This allows the audience to absorb the information and feel the emotion behind your words. Remember , slower speaking rates can add weight and significance to your message, especially during pivotal moments in a speech .

For political speeches, aiming for around 110-120 words per minute ensures that you convey gravitas and allow your audience to absorb every point without feeling rushed or overwhelmed.

Business presentations

When delivering business presentations, aim for a speaking rate of around 140 words per minute . It’s crucial to vary your speed and enunciate clearly to maintain audience engagement .

Keep in mind that the average reading speed is about 150 words per minute , so adjusting accordingly will help ensure your message is effectively communicated.

The ideal speaking rate for different types of speeches varies; however, for business presentations, a slightly slower pace can help convey complex information more clearly and allow time for the audience to digest key points.

Tips for Selecting the Right Speaking Speed

Select the right speaking speed by knowing your own rate, using word counts, planning for delays, and varying your pace to keep your audience engaged. Read more on our blog!

Know your own speaking rate

Assess your speaking rate by timing yourself for a minute as you speak naturally. Then count the number of words spoken. This will help determine your average speaking speed . Repeat this process a few times to get an accurate estimate.

For example, if you speak around 160 words in a minute, then your speaking rate is faster than the average English speaker.

Understanding how fast or slow you normally speak can inform adjustments needed when preparing speeches and presentations. This self-awareness enables better planning and aids in choosing the ideal pace for conveying your message effectively to different audiences, like when delivering TED Talks or political speeches.

Use word counts as an estimation

When determining your speaking rate , use word counts to estimate how many words you need for a specific time frame . For example, if you aim for a 5-minute speech and speak at the recommended rate of 140 words per minute, then plan to include around 700 words in your speech.

Knowing this estimation can help you tailor your content effectively for different speaking duration requirements.

By using word counts as an estimation tool , it allows you to gauge how much content is needed based on the duration of your speech. This method helps in planning and organizing the material to fit within the allocated time while ensuring that key points are effectively conveyed without rushing or dragging them out.

Plan for technical delays and Q&A

Plan for technical delays and Q&A by adding extra buffer time to your speech. It’s common for things to go off schedule, so allow a few extra minutes in case of tech hiccups or questions from the audience.

Prepare some backup material in case you need to fill time unexpectedly. Also, practice answering potential Q&A queries during your rehearsals so you can respond confidently and succinctly.

Remember that technical issues are part of public speaking , so remaining calm and prepared will help you deliver a smooth presentation even if something unexpected happens.

Vary your speaking rate

To keep your audience engaged, change the speed of your speech. Slow down for important points and speed up to show excitement or urgency. This technique helps maintain interest and emphasizes key ideas , making your speech more dynamic.

Try adjusting your speaking pace using pauses, emphasizing words, or changing tone. Varying your rate adds interest and keeps listeners focused through different speeds and rhythms.

It’s a simple yet effective way to enhance engagement throughout your speech.

How to Improve Your Speaking Rate

Improve speaking rate by practicing different exercises and seeking feedback for adjustment. Always aim to enhance your verbal delivery.

Practice with different exercises

To improve your speaking rate, try these exercises:

• Read aloud various texts at a comfortable pace , gradually speeding up.
• Use a metronome to set the pace and match your speaking rate to it.
• Practice tongue twisters to enhance articulation and fluency.
• Record yourself speaking and analyze areas for improvement.
• Engage in role – playing scenarios to boost confidence and spontaneity.
• Experiment with storytelling to vary your speaking speed and tone.
• Attend public speaking workshops or join clubs like Toastmasters for structured practice.

Now let’s delve into the different exercises for improving your speaking rate!

Seek feedback and adjust accordingly

As a beginner in public speaking, seeking feedback and making adjustments is crucial. Feedback helps you understand how others perceive your speech rate and style. Adjusting accordingly can make your delivery more effective.

Remember, practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect! Therefore, seek out opportunities to speak in front of diverse audiences or record yourself to get constructive criticism from different perspectives.

Taking this step will help you gain confidence and enhance your speaking skills.

I’ve learned a lot about speaking rates and how they can impact a speech. Speaking at the right speed can make your message clearer and more engaging for your audience. Now, let’s hear from an expert in public speaking.

Meet Dr. Linda Harris, a renowned communication specialist with over 20 years of experience teaching effective speaking techniques at prestigious universities. Dr. Harris has authored several influential papers on voice modulation and oratory excellence, securing her place as an authority in the field of public speaking.

Dr. Harris emphasizes that understanding your personal speaking rate is crucial for crafting speeches that resonate with audiences. By aligning your delivery with the content’s nature and audience expectations, you enhance comprehension and retention.

She refers to studies indicating optimal engagement levels when speakers maintain rates close to 140-160 words per minute.

On safety, ethics, and transparency in speech delivery, Dr. Harris highlights the importance of accurate information dissemination above maintaining specific speech speeds. Ensuring messages are truthful maintains credibility regardless of the presentation pace.

She advises incorporating varied speech rates into everyday conversations as practice for formal presentations. This flexibility not only improves adaptability but also enriches personal communication skills noticeably.

In her balanced evaluation, Dr. Harris recognizes potential challenges like adapting to technological aids during online presentations or managing time constraints in live talks effectively without sacrificing quality — issues often addressed through conscientious preparation and continuous self-awareness.

Ultimately, Dr. Harris endorses prioritizing clarity and emotional connection over rigid adherence to exact words-per-minute counts in most speaking scenarios while acknowledging certain contexts may demand stricter timing control for maximum effect.

Her insights underline practical apparatuses offered by knowing ideal speech velocities yet encourage speakers to prioritize their unique voice within this framework.

Ryan Nelson is the founder of Speak2Impress, a platform dedicated to helping individuals master the art of public speaking. Despite having a crippling fear of public speaking for many years, Ryan overcame his anxiety through diligent practice and active participation in Toastmasters. Now residing in New York City, he is passionate about sharing his journey and techniques to empower others to speak with confidence and clarity.

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Speaking time calculator

Type or paste your speech to instantly calculate your speaking time

How does this speech timer work

To begin, delete the sample text and either type in your speech or copy and paste it into the editor.

The average reading speed and speech rate is 200 words per minute and is the default setting above. Once you paste your speech, click “Play” and Speechify will analyze your speech by the number of words and generate a time to speak it at the default rate.

You can listen to your speech in various accents or languages. If you are aiming for a specific timeframe for your speech, click edit to either increase or decrease the number of words to see how long it would take to speak them.

You can also increase or decrease the speaking rate to gauge how fast or slow you should speak in order to get to a specific time with the number of words you have in your speech.

To get to that perfect word count to fit with the speech length time, you’ll have to keep editing between words per minute (WPM) and number of words.

The best part is that you can share your speech in audio format to your friends, relatives, or peers to review it. They can simply click play and listen to your speech.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many words are there in a 1 minute speech.

Based on the average speed of speech, there are 150 words in a 1 minute speech.

How many words are there in a 2 minute speech?

There are 300 words per minute in a 2 minute speech. 2 minutes isn’t a long time so when you speak, you could endure the average speaking rate.

How many words are there in a 3 minute speech?

On average there are 450 words in a 3 minute speech. This is based on the average speech rate of 250 words per minute. At the 3 minute mark, even a novice speaker could keep going at the rate they started – with some practice.

How many words are there in a 4 minute speech?

On average there are 600 words in a 4 minute speech. This is based on the average speech rate of 250 words per minute. Still, even a novice speaker could maintain the 150 words per minute rate. Try it in the Soundbite above. Set your words per minute and speak along to see if you could endure consistency over 4 minutes.

How many words are there in a 5 minute speech?

On average there are 750 words in a 5 minute speech. This is based on the average speech rate of 250 words per minute. While this is simple math, we after all are humans and 5 minutes can be pushing the boundaries of a consistent speech tempo and words per minute.

How many words are there in a 10 minute speech?

In a 10 minute speech aim for 1000 words. The math might tell you 1,500 words but consider your speech. You might need pauses, rest for your voice, dramatic effects, and perhaps even audience interaction. Also, it becomes quite difficult to endure a consistent 150 words per minute speech rate for 10 minutes. Consider your listeners. We doubt very few people would want to listen to a precisely 150 words per minute speech for 10 minutes. It wouldn’t be engaging. And in a speech, you should engage and communicate.

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Average Words Per Minute Speaking: Why It Matters

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• Last Updated On: June 2, 2024

Understanding your speaking pace can unlock new levels of communication effectiveness and personal insight. While many overlook the importance of speaking speed, it plays a crucial role in connecting and conveying our messages to others.

This exploration delves into the nuances of your average speaking rate, providing actionable advice to refine your verbal delivery and overall presentation skills.

Let’s explore the common pitfalls in speech delivery and master the art of impactful communication, backed by research indicating that influential speakers adjust their speed to match their message and audience.

📝 Key Takeaways

• 📊 Ideal speeds vary from 100-150 WPM for presentations to 250-400 WPM for commentators.
• 🕰️ Time yourself reading aloud to identify your average pace and areas for improvement.
• 📈 Your cultural background, confidence, and public speaking comfort significantly impact your speaking speed.
• 💻 Practice, feedback, and technology can help you fine-tune your speaking rate for clearer communication.

What Is The Average Words Per Minute For Speaking?

One may wonder, “How many words does the average person speak per minute?”

The average speaking rate is 150-160 words per minute (WPM) for podcasters. This can vary with context and individual differences, ranging from 110-250 WPM . Radio presenters or podcasters may speak faster than the average rate.

Average Words Per Minute (WPM) by Speaking Context:

Words to minutes calculator – podcast episode timing.

Planning your podcast episode ? Use this simple calculator to determine how long your script will take to deliver. Enter your script length and choose your average speaking speed.

Get results instantly to help manage your episode timing perfectly. This free tool is great for podcasters who want to plan their episodes and keep their audience engaged.

How to Determine Your Speaking Rate

Calculating this and adapting your average WPM can greatly enhance communication skills and ensure effective information delivery.

• Select a passage or piece of text that is around 200-300 words long. This length is ideal because it’s long enough to get an average rate but short enough to be manageable.
• Before you start reading, set a timer. Smartphones usually have a stopwatch function that works perfectly for this.
• Read the passage out loud, just as you would in a conversation or presentation. Do not rush or deliberately slow down; aim for a natural pace.
• Once you’ve finished reading, stop the timer and note down the time taken.
• To determine your speaking rate in words per minute (WPM), divide the number of words in the passage by the time taken in minutes to read it.
• Your speaking rate can vary depending on context, mood, or the complexity of the content. Repeating the process with different types of passages (e.g., technical content vs. casual conversation) might help you get a range of your average speaking speed.
• If your speaking rate is too fast or slow for your intended audience or purpose, practice adjusting it. Using a metronome can help maintain a consistent pace.
• Sometimes, we do not judge our speaking pace best. It can be beneficial to get feedback from peers or mentors. They can provide insights into whether you’re speaking too fast, too slow, or just right.
• Several apps and online tools can automatically calculate your speaking rate by analyzing a recorded speech sample.

Remember, while determining your speaking rate is useful, paying attention to clarity, intonation, and enunciation is also essential. The goal is to communicate effectively; sometimes, that might mean adjusting your pace to ensure comprehension.

Speaking Rate (WPM) of Professional Speakers

The average speaking rate of professional speakers is 167 words per minute (WPM).

It’s important to note that while Steve Jobs’ talk isn’t from the regular TED conferences, it’s featured on the TED website. This presentation, given by the late visionary, is a masterclass in capturing the audience’s attention and delivering a poignant message.

Tony Robbins, the fastest speaker on our list, epitomizes that speed need not compromise clarity. His crystal-clear articulation and lucid language ensure his message is understood, irrespective of the brisk pace.

Speakers must adjust their speaking rate to match their audience’s listening comfort . Racing through content might lose listeners, while a languid pace could let their attention drift. The art lies in striking that perfect equilibrium.

Optimal Script Length for Podcast Episodes

As podcasting continues to gain traction as a favored medium for content delivery, understanding the ideal script length for varying episode durations can be invaluable.

The table below provides a guideline for scriptwriters and podcasters to ensure content remains engaging and concise for listeners.

By aligning the script length with the intended duration, creators can better plan, structure, and deliver their content for maximum impact. Dive in to discover the recommended word count for your next episode!

➡️ How Long Should a Podcast Be ?

Factors That Influence The Speed Of Speech Of The Average Person

Many factors influence the speed at an average person speaks, including:

The Culture You Were Raised In

It might sound crazy, but the culture you were raised in can significantly impact your average speaking speed. Some cultures and languages naturally speak much faster than others, which can seriously impact your average WPM.

If you grew up speaking a first language that is naturally fast-paced, such as Spanish or Italian, then it is likely that you will speak at a faster rate than someone who grew up speaking a language with slower speech rates, such as English.

Slower speakers might take two seconds to say a word, while faster speakers could say the same in half a second. This difference may not seem like much, but it can increase over time. If you speak for five minutes, you will likely say twice as many words as the slow speaker.

Additionally, if you are used to hearing the average person speak quickly, you may find adjusting to slower speech patterns difficult. Slow speakers can often be frustrating for natives who speak faster, who may find themselves impatient or lost.

The good news is that you can learn to speak slower if necessary, no matter your natural speech rate.

Just remember to take your time and focus on speaking rather than worrying about the number of words you say. With practice, you can find the perfect balance for you.

How Confident You Feel

Your confidence level also has a huge effect on your speaking speed. If you feel confident, you’ll naturally speak slower and more evenly than if you feel insecure.

If you are nervous, you are more likely to rush your speech with faster-than-average speaking speed and trip over your words. A good speaker can control their speed and use it to their advantage.

World Fastest Speaker

Stephen Peter Woodmore (13 December 1959 – 6 February 2023) was a British salesman recognized for his extraordinary speech speed, articulating at 637 words per minute (wpm) — four times faster than average.

From August 1990, he held the Guinness World Record for the world’s fastest talker, succeeding John Moschitta Jr. However, in 1995, Sean Shannon from Canada surpassed him with a speed of 655 wpm.

How Comfortable You Are With Public Speaking

Finally, your comfort level when speaking in public can significantly impact your speaking rate. If you are not used to being in front of large groups of people, you may struggle to keep up a steady pace, thus speaking faster and rushing your speech.

Good speakers, such as those from popular Ted talks, often have extensive practice and experience in public speaking , which has helped them become more comfortable and confident when addressing large audiences.

Tips To Improve The Speed Of How The Average Person Speaks

As you can see from our list above, several different aspects affect the speed of your speech. However, there are some simple things that you can do to improve your speaking rates.

Slow Down When Talking About Difficult Topics

When discussing difficult topics, such as politics or religion, it is important to think carefully about what you say. If you speak too quickly, you risk making mistakes and sounding awkward .

Instead, try to speak slowly and deliberately, and make sure that you pause between each sentence.

Practice Before Giving Presentations

Practice makes perfect, and this applies to speaking as well. If you plan on giving a presentation, practice speaking slowly and pausing frequently.

Avoid rushing through your speech and focus on getting all your points across without any mistakes. This will help you feel more confident and relaxed and allow you to speak more easily.

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Practice Reading Out Loud

Reading aloud is one of the best ways to improve your talking speed because it forces you to slow down and pay attention to how you speak, especially when reading complicated words.

It also helps you to learn to control your breathing , another factor affecting your speaking speed.

Speak Clearly And Slowly

You should always aim to speak slowly and comfortably—even if you are nervous. If you speak too fast, you are more likely than ever to trip over your words, increasing your stress levels and mental fatigue.

As we mentioned earlier, nerves can cause you to breathe faster, so take note of your breath rate and try to slow it down slightly.

Take Deep Breaths

Taking deep breaths before talking will help you relax and give you time to prepare for your presentation. People speak more quickly when nervous or anxious, so it is essential to stay calm.

If you are tackling complex content, it can be helpful to slow down your thoughts by taking a few moments to pause and think about what you want to say before speaking. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure you say what you want.

Taking deep breaths will also help you calm down, reduce the chances of you tripping over your words, and maintain a regular speaking rate.

Why Does Speaking Speed Matter?

When you are speaking publicly, the speed of your speech is important and can offer you several advantages when delivering a speech. These include:

Increasing Your Credibility

If you have a high speaking rate, you risk sounding like you are trying to convince everyone around you that you know what you are talking about.

Many speakers would want to avoid this, but if you speak at an appropriate pace, you can be seen as credible and trustworthy.

Radio hosts and TED Talk speakers are known for speaking slowly and deliberately, which helps them engage the audience and build trust .

Improving Your Audience’s Attention Span

Speaking too quickly can cause your audience to lose interest. They may find themselves nodding off or looking bored, meaning they won’t pay close attention to what you say.

By contrast, speaking slowly lets them listen carefully and absorb everything you say.

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Avoiding Slips Of The Tongue

Speaking too quickly can make you more likely to slip up and accidentally say something embarrassing.

For example, if you talk about your favorite movie and say, “I love watching movies with my friends,” you could say, “I love watching movies alone.” This slip-up is unacceptable, and it is easy to see why.

FAQs: Average Words Per Minute Speaking

How fast does the average podcaster speak.

The average podcaster speaks approximately 150 to 160 words per minute, while the average professional speaker is slightly higher at 167 WPM (words per minute).

How Fast Does the Average Person Talk?

The average person speaks at a rate of approximately 125 to 150 words per minute.

How many words is a 5 minute speech?

A 5-minute speech would be around 750 to 800 words using the average speaking rate.

Is 100 words per minute fast speaking?

Speaking at 100 WPM is slightly below the average conversational rate, so it’s not considered fast.

Is 150 wpm speaking fast?

Speaking at 150 WPM is about average for most people, especially in presentations and general conversations.

Is speaking 200 words a minute fast?

Speaking at 200 WPM is faster than average and is typically seen in enthusiastic or rapid conversations.

How long is a 700 word speech?

A 700-word speech would last roughly 4.5 to 5 minutes at an average speaking rate.

Is 150 words per minute good for a speech?

Yes, 150 WPM is a good rate for a speech as it’s comfortable for listeners and ensures clarity.

Is it possible to speak 300 words per minute?

Speaking at 300 WPM is extremely fast. While some individuals, like certain record-holders, can achieve it, it’s beyond the average speaking rate for most people and can challenge comprehension.

How long is a 2 minute speech?

A 2-minute speech is typically 300 to 320 words, based on an average speaking rate of 150-160 words per minute (WPM).

Final Thoughts On How Many Words You Can Say Per Minute

Your speaking speed isn’t fixed; it can change with time. Utilizing our guidelines, you can determine your words-per-minute rate and refine your speech to be more composed, captivating, and effective for your listeners.

Other sources :

• Science Focus

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How to Give a Speech: 10 Tips for Powerful Public Speaking

When we start preparing to give a speech, it can be a nerve-wracking experience. It’s completely normal—most of us feel a combination of excitement and nerves when we’re about to take the stage.

However, with some strategic planning and practical advice, you can make sure your speech is powerful and effective. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to give a speech that will leave your audience engaged and inspired.

We’ll examine 10 tips to help you build a powerful speech, from outlining your points methodically to crafting captivating introductions . Whether you’re a beginner or experienced public speaker, these nuggets of wisdom will help you take your next speech to the next level. Let’s get started!

Quick Review of Key Points

Preparing ahead of time is the key to giving an effective speech. Make sure to structure your speaking points, rehearse your delivery, and be aware of the needs of your audience for maximum impact.

How to Prepare for a Speech

Preparing for a speech is an essential step to public speaking success. It can help to build your confidence, create content that reaches the audience, and reduce performance anxiety.

Although it can be time-consuming in the beginning, preparation will ensure less stress and more comfort during delivery. Here are some tips to consider when preparing for a speech:

Practice : Before delivering a speech, practice it out loud several times. This will allow you to gain experience in speaking without an audience and increase your confidence when you do have one.

Practicing also helps to identify awkward moments in the speech or any difficult phrases which then can be changed or removed altogether. Additionally, it helps you determine where to pause for effect. Research : Depending on the topic of the speech , research should be done beforehand to gather information that is relevant and interesting for the audience. It is important to get acquainted with the language typically used by audiences to ensure a clear understanding of what is being said.

Additionally, relevant statistics and stories concerning the topic are a great way to draw in listeners and make the presentation more engaging .

Know Your Audience : When preparing your speech, be sure to consider who will be listening. For instance, if giving a presentation at work, include industry jargon that members would understand and include relevant topics from publications that might be familiar to the employees.

On the other hand, if consulting business professionals in their field then technical language may be easier for them to comprehend than laypeople or students.

By gathering valuable information about the topic and getting comfortable with a speech’s content and delivery through practice, speakers will gain more assurance during their talk as well as respect from their audience.

Preparing beforehand not only gives insight into how to engage listeners but also encourages more meaningful conversations after the event. Now that we have discussed how to prepare for a speech let us move on to creating an outline which will provide structure during delivery.

Create an Outline

After determining the audience and purpose of your speech, the next step to effective public speaking is to create an outline .

An outline serves as a roadmap to ensure that your speech has a logical flow and contains all important points. It also can help keep you on track during the speech itself, allowing you to stay focused and organized.

When constructing an outline, consider drawing up both a main point and sub-points for each portion of the speech. Both should be relevant to the goal of the presentation and backed up by facts and research.

Brainstorming can help in this process; try grouping your ideas together in clusters to make sure you cover all possible angles.

Furthermore, writing out exact quotations or figures can prove beneficial in forming a cohesive argument. At this stage, it is also wise to decide where transitions, humor, stories, or other engaging techniques will be included.

While there are differing opinions as to whether outlines should be memorized or simply used as a reference while speaking, many agree that they should serve their purpose – not only articulate the main thoughts of the speech but also assist the speaker with maintaining focus and preventing distractions.

The debate between those who advocate for memorization versus casual consulting touches upon issues such as rehearsal time, risk of errors in delivery, ease of practice versus actual performance and more.

Each side has valid arguments that should be weighed prior to deciding what type of approach best suits your needs.

Having a firmly constructed outline acts as a valuable tool when it comes time to deliver a powerful public speech. By actively utilizing this tactic, speakers may not only enhance their clarity and coherence, but also add structure and vibrance to their presentations.

Now that we have explored what goes into crafting an effective outline, let’s dive deeper into how we can best collect resources and research our topics for maximum impact.

Collect Sources and Research

Collecting sources and research is a crucial step for any public speaking engagement. It ensures that you have the necessary information to make strong points and back up your statements.

Before writing your speech, take time to research your topic to gain familiarity with different perspectives, facts, and counterpoints. This will help you to craft an argument that can stand up to scrutiny while also adding a breadth of knowledge to your speech.

Interviews can be a powerful source of evidence and anecdotes, so try to include one or two relevant interviews in your research process. Relying solely on secondary sources such as books and articles can lead to a narrow scope of understanding.

Interviews provide an opportunity to hear directly from an expert and create an interesting dynamic in your speech by adding personal experiences as well as commentary from a professional.

In research it is important to stay objective. Gather a variety of perspectives and be open-minded about their merits. Don’t forget to consider both sides of the argument when researching for your speech.

Doing this allows you to understand the opposing perspective and enables you to anticipate potential counter arguments from your audience.

By acknowledging them beforehand, you may increase the persuasive power of your speech by showing confidence in the points you make.

Once you have collected all sources, review them carefully and separate the most pertinent information from the less useful material.

Synthesising this information into concise yet impactful points is a critical part in delivering powerful talks without overloading your audience with too much data or going off track during your speech delivery.

Organizing Your Speech

Before you start putting your words together, it’s important to consider how the different parts of a speech fit together. By taking the time to organize the ideas in your speech , you’ll be able to deliver a presentation that is well-constructed and easy to understand.

One way to help with organizing your speech is to write an outline . An outline is like a map or plan that will provide you with a framework for each section of your speech.

Start by writing out your main points and then include additional details underneath each one. This will help keep your speech focused and provide direction for where you are going next.

Another approach for organizing your speech is known as the “inverted pyramid” method. This structure starts with your conclusion at the beginning of the speech, and then works backward by providing more explanation and detail as it moves toward the introduction.

This method can be helpful when speaking about topics that are unfamiliar to the audience since it doesn’t require them to wait until near the end of the presentation to learn what you’ve been talking about.

No matter which organization approach you choose, make sure to practice it before giving your speech so that you are comfortable with its flow. Lastly, remember that it’s ok to adjust things while you speak if they don’t seem or feel quite right.

Now let’s take a look at how we can use these organizing techniques to actually put our speeches together – starting with structuring our speech.

Structure Your Speech

Creating a strong structure for your speech will ensure that the audience stays engaged and understands your main points. As you are developing an outline, map out how you want to begin and end your speech.

Break up the information into smaller sections with either verbal or visual cues so that your audience can clearly see how you are transitioning between topics . Consider adding humor judiciously throughout your presentation as this could help engage the audience and lighten any tension.

The length of your presentation is also important. You will want to make sure that you include all of the necessary information without going over time.

Oftentimes less is more; if you can say it in five minutes why use ten? Make sure that you practice timed rehearsals so that you can gauge how long you’re actually speaking.

In contrast, avoid trying to pack too much content into one presentation as this could overwhelm both you and the audience. If needed, offer supplemental reading materials for those who may be interested in delving further into the subject matter.

Paragraphs can also be helpful when organizing large amounts of content within the body of your presentation. Utilizing paragraph breaks gives your audience a break and helps to highlight key ideas or summaries before moving onto a new topic area.

Finally, it is crucial to remember what your desired outcome is from the presentation; plan accordingly by ensuring that the beginning, middle, and end serve their respective purposes and adhere to that goal.

With careful deliberations, structuring a successful presentation can be achieved with relative ease.

Having established a solid structure for your speech, it’s important to focus on another key element: rehearsal. The next section will discuss the benefits of practicing before delivering a powerful public speaking performance.

Rehearse Your Speech

Rehearsing is integral to giving a successful speech. When you rehearse your presentation, you give your mind an opportunity to become familiar with the notes and concepts that you are presenting. It also increases your confidence and reduces anxiety or self-doubt.

In fact, studies have found that those who rehearsed their presentation had higher scores in public speaking performance and language proficiency evaluations.

When it comes to how much rehearsal is enough, opinions are divided. Some people believe that over-rehearsing can lead to a more robotic speech with less natural emotion and connection with the audience .

On the other hand, others argue that no matter how well-versed someone is on the topic, additional rehearsal time improves both the delivery of the speech and memorization of key points and facts.

Ultimately, it’s important to practice until you personally find the most comfortable level for yourself, as this will ultimately result in a more engaging delivery.

Finally, if at all possible, try to practice in front of a friend or colleague for honest feedback on any elements that need improvement before the big day. Rehearsal dedication may be tedious, but it results in big rewards on stage–enabling you to deliver your content with clarity, confidence, and poise.

With thoughtful preparation complete, it’s now time to step into the spotlight and give your speech!

Giving Your Speech

The key to success when giving a speech is to be well prepared and confident. Every individual’s preparation process will vary, but the basics should stay the same.

Start by studying your content, understanding the material and being able to repeat it in your own words. Clarify any potentially difficult points. Create visual aids like PowerPoint slides or handouts that supplement the key ideas in your speech.

Practice your public speaking skills with informal conversations with friends and family or rehearse it alone in front of a mirror. Use visualization; imagine yourself confidently delivering your speech. Consider addressing a practice audience if possible to become more accustomed to a live size group.

On the day of the event, arrive early and plan for any potential obstacles: What if my computer doesn’t work? What if I forget something? Allow sufficient time for setup and check-in.

When you are ready to give your speech, take some deep breaths, focus on the positives, and distract yourself from any anxious thoughts with positive affirmations. Remember you have prepared diligently for this moment, you are well prepared and you will succeed!

Start strong by engaging the audience immediately with an attention grabbing opening statement. Speak clearly and make sure that everyone can hear and understand your message.

Slow down and emphasize points as needed throughout your presentation. Be aware of pace, volume, and tone of voice: too fast/monotone can confuse/bore listeners while pauses add a dramatic effect that keeps their interest piqued.

Ultimately, giving a successful speech will depend on knowing your material well enough to speak confidently in front of your audience without hesitation or missteps.

When you do make a mistake (and they happen!) don’t panic – know that mistakes are inevitable but don’t be discouraged; get back on track as soon as possible and continue at the same energy level you had before the mistake occurred.

Having successfully given your speech, take a moment to reflect on what went well and what could be improved upon for next time before transitioning into the next step: mastering delivery.

Master Your Delivery

Mastering your delivery is the key to an effective speech. Without purposeful body language and careful emphasis on certain words , your speech may lack wow-factor and prevent listeners from tuning in. Following these simple tips can help you get started with delivering an engaging and memorable speech:

The most important part of delivery is practice. Rehearse and perfect your speech ahead of time – this allows for more natural flow and confidence during your presentation. It also helps to create pauses between sentences for clarity, emphasize key points, and not be too casual or stiff.

Practicing inflections and varying tones adds interest to your speech by keeping listeners’ attention.

Additionally, it’s important to project your voic e so everyone in the room can hear you; make sure you’re speaking loud enough but don’t feel pressure to shout or yell at any point unless that’s part of the atmosphere of the event.

It’s also crucial to maintain good posture while speaking – stand tall with both feet on the ground, keep your back straight, hold yourself up without gesturing too much or leaning against a podium if applicable.

To further engage listeners, use purposeful hand gestures as they help emphasize certain points and add visual interest – however, avoid overusing them as it can hinders communication.

Make meaningful eye contact with audience members throughout the presentation – otherwise you might come across as unenthusiastic or bored with what you’re saying which deters attention away from the content itself.

By mastering your delivery, you can boost the impact of your presentation considerably – providing a memorable experience for your audience that stands out from others’. As such, it’s worth investing time into practicing ahead of time until delivery feels comfortable and second nature.

Having said this, making use of visual aids such as PowerPoint slides can greatly improve the impact of a speech once delivery has been mastered – let’s look into that next.

Use Visual Aids

Using visual aids can help presenters express concepts more clearly and engage the audience.

Visuals are particularly useful when conveying complex information, such as data, trends, or statistics — they impart meaning at a glance. But some public speakers may wonder if visual aids can be distracting or unnecessary.

Even though visuals can attract attention away from a presenter’s verbal delivery, carefully designed visuals can actually support the speech and help provide clarity. If done well, visuals are effective for capturing an audience’s interest and helping them to better understand the content being presented.

For example, a graph or chart should relate to the points made in the speech and should be discussed in more detail during its appearance onscreen. The presentation can also include larger images that effectively reinforce the ideas conveyed in the speech.

Videos and sound clips are other powerful forms of multimedia that could be employed to make the speech more meaningful.

To ensure that visuals enhance the message of the presentation, key factors to consider include relevancy to topic, good graphic design or aesthetics, accurate size to prevent distortion or blurriness, and seamless integration into the keynote slides or printed handouts .

In this way, visuals offer an opportunity for presenters to demonstrate their creativity and keep their audiences interested in what is being said. Thus, used wisely and aptly, visuals can add tremendous value to speeches by presenting arguments more efficiently and driving home important points. Now let’s explore effective techniques for speech giving that will allow you to craft and deliver your speeches with confidence.

Effective Techniques for Speech Giving

There are a number of effective techniques for giving a speech that will help you deliver it with confidence and poise.

First, practice your delivery in advance. You should practice both in front of a mirror or recording device to check for any distracting habits such as talking too quickly or mispronouncing words.

Second, use simple, clear language and short, concise sentences. Avoid overly technical terms and jargon that may leave your audience confused.

Third, work to establish a connection with your audience by using appropriate facial expressions and hand gestures while speaking.

Fourth, utilize effective persuasive techniques such as presenting evidence, strong arguments supported by facts, personal anecdotes and vivid metaphors.

Finally, articulate an organized structure for your speech. Your speech should have an introduction, body and conclusion to clearly communicate the main point and provide the audience with the necessary context to understand it better.

While these techniques may sound intimidating at first, they can be learned over time with practice and will make all the difference in how successful your speech delivery is received by your audience.

To build on these skills further , the next section will provide tips on how to build confidence when giving a speech.

Building Confidence

Building confidence is key when giving a powerful speech, as it will enable you to deliver the speech in a more poised and credible manner.

To create this confidence , start by understanding that any hesitation or butterflies prior to your speech are completely normal and should not be feared. Instead, view them as natural states of anticipation for something exciting, knowing that you are about to give an amazing speech.

Next, understanding who your audience is and tailoring your speech to meet their expectations will help build your confidence.

Familiarizing yourself with their interests and knowledge on the subject matter ahead of time can equip you with the understanding needed to respond appropriately if questions arise or objections surface during the speech.

Further, practice is key when building confidence for a public speaking engagement . Rehearsing with friends or colleagues before hand will give you an opportunity to learn where problem areas are within the content of your speech, as well as help solidify your delivery by becoming more comfortable with each step.

Checking sound levels in the room you’re presenting in coupled with learning where exits/emergency locations are located within that space can also help alleviate stress levels and boost self-assurance while delivering the speech.

Finally, wearing comfortable clothing and dressing professionally adds an extra layer of confidence when speaking in public.

If possible, bring an additional outfit on hand during the presentation in case of spills or accidents that would require a quick change between sections of the talk. Having this back-up plan in place can aid in keeping peace of mind at ease throughout the speech.

In conclusion, building confidence prior to a public speaking event can mean the difference between a good and great delivery of your message.

By taking into account each of these tips you can ensure that this part of your preparation runs smoothly and sets you up for success when delivering powerful speeches.

With a well-crafted note card of talking points and strong sense of self-assurance, it’s time to start speaking with passion!

Speaking with Passion

As a public speaker, your audience expects you to engage not only with your words but also with your emotions. To share the most impactful message, it is important to speak passionately about your subject.

Doing so will make your speech more memorable and thereby more effective in convincing your audience of its legitimacy.

The power of speaking authentically with emotion lies in its relatability and connection. Showing feelings allows people to connect with you as a person rather than just a speaker. It opens the door to understanding through empathy and active listening .

Examples might include adding personal stories , telling jokes, or displaying your feelings openly during the delivery of your message.

However, not all topics lend themselves easily to expressing emotion. If the subject matter is overly complex or technical there may be less opportunity for emotional expression—but this doesn’t mean those conversations can’t incorporate emotion.

Even if faced with a difficult situation such as death or financial turmoil, emotions can still be conveyed in a respectful way that keeps audiences engaged.

Remember that how much emotion you show depends on the type of audience you’re sharing it with—using sensitivity when delivering passionate speeches helps avoid awkwardness or embarrassment for any attendees who may find opinionated language uncomfortable for whatever reason.

Striking the right balance between being straightforward and showing compassion takes practice, so take the time to develop a style that works best for you and improves upon each performance.

Finally, incorporating passion into a speech gives it life and makes it relatable and engaging—which are essential elements to speaking effectively.

Having passion means giving ourselves permission to take ownership over our stories, making them deeply personal in order to reach our goals and touch people’s hearts in meaningful ways. With that said, let’s move on to discussing how we should tackle dealing with challenges while giving a speech.

Dealing with Challenges

The process of delivering a speech can be challenging, but it is also rewarding. Difficulties can arise during the process that may threaten to derail your success. To ensure you are adequately prepared for these possible pitfalls it is important to consider strategies for proactively mitigating the risk of encountering these challenges. 1. Public Speaking Anxiety: Many people experience some form of anxiety when asked to speak in public. There are a number of techniques available to combat this fear and increase confidence, such as deep breathing exercises, mental rehearsal, positive self-talk and visualization of success.

Learning about the audience, creating an engaging presentation and using props or visual aids can also help reduce anxiety levels and create a better overall experience for both the speaker and the audience. 2. Unfamiliar Topics or Audiences: When presenting on unfamiliar topics or to an unknown audience it can be difficult to prepare effectively.

In this situation it is important to conduct research on the topic and familiarize yourself with the needs of your audience so that the content is tailored accordingly. It is also helpful to use humor or stories related to the topic in order to engage your audience and make them more receptive to your message. 3. Lack of Support: If you lack support from family, friends, colleagues or mentors, it can be difficult to push through difficult conversations or speeches without any additional motivation.

To overcome this challenge, seek out peer mentorship opportunities or find compatible online communities where people discuss similar topics or objectives. Here you can share ideas, provide feedback and learn from others who have experienced similar issues. 4. Time Constraints: One of the biggest challenges when giving a speech is managing your time effectively in order to deliver an effective message without going over allotted timeslots and boring your audience .

To successfully address this challenge try setting manageable goals for each section of your speech and practice regularly. Replicating real-time conditions as closely as possible will help you stay within time constraints when delivering your speech on the day itself. In conclusion, there are many potential challenges you may face when giving a speech or taking part in a public speaking event – but with proper preparation and practice they are easily managed if approached correctly.

With knowledge of techniques for dealing with such scenarios comes increased confidence when stepping up to the podium – further improving your chances of delivering an effective speech that resonates with your audience members.

Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

How should i end my speech to leave a lasting impression.

The best way to end your speech is by reinforcing your main point and summarizing the key takeaways. You should also encourage the audience to take action, whether it be to sign up for a newsletter, make a donation, or visit your website for more information. This final call to action will not only leave a lasting impression on the audience but will also help you achieve any goals you might have had when making your speech in the first place.

What techniques can I use to keep my audience engaged during my speech?

One of the best techniques for keeping an audience engaged during a speech is to keep it interactive . Ask questions throughout the presentation, as well as allowing for audience input and discussion. This can help to keep people’s attention and create a more engaging experience.

Another great tip is to use humor. Even if you don’t consider yourself a natural comedian, sprinkling in a few jokes here and there can break up the monotony of long speeches and keep people interested. Humor can also help to make points stick in people’s minds, making them easier to remember.

Finally, try to be enthusiastic about the content of your speech. If you show too much indifference or lethargic behavior, it will discourage your audience from paying attention and taking your message seriously.

Instead, be passionate about what you are saying so that the energy of your words carries into the room and engages your audience with excitement.

How can I use storytelling to make my speech more interesting?

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can be used to make any speech more interesting. Telling stories in your speech will help engage the audience and make your message stick. Here are some tips for using storytelling in your speech:

1. Choose stories that are relevant to your message and audience. Think about stories that will best illustrate the point you are trying to convey, or evoke emotions in your listeners. 2. Use vivid descriptions and visuals when telling your story. Be sure to include details such as setting, character descriptions, dialogue and plot points. This will help to bring the story to life for your audience. 3. Make sure the story you are telling has a strong conclusion or moral at the end. This will help add emphasis to your message and make it memorable. 4. Practice telling stories out loud before delivering a speech with them. Rehearsing will help you deliver your story more effectively and with more confidence in front of an audience. By using these tips, storytelling can be an effective tool to make any speech more interesting, engaging, and persuasive!

How can I prepare for my speech effectively?

Preparing for a speech effectively is essential to delivering an impactful and memorable presentation. Here are some tips: 1. Have a clear goal in mind. Before starting to prepare, ask yourself what the purpose of giving the speech is: what message do you want to convey? Defining this will help to structure your content and focus your research. 2. Research thoroughly. Make sure you understand the subject matter well, so that your delivery sounds confident and inspiring. Using facts and data will strengthen your arguments and make your talk more convincing. 3. Outline your speech. Make a rough outline of how you want it to go – from beginning to end – well in advance of the actual presentation. This will give you a strong foundation upon which you can craft an engaging talk with an effective narrative arc that keeps audiences interested and engaged. 4. Practice regularly. Rehearsing your speech out loud several times is key to ensuring that you know it well enough to feel comfortable when delivering it live in front of an audience.

5. Time yourself. Record how long it takes for you to go through your entire speech, so that you can adjust the length as needed before delivering it live – remember that most speeches should last no more than 10-15 minutes. 6. Identify potential questions from the audience and prepare answers before hand. Knowing ahead of time what kind of questions people may ask can help reduce the anxiety of not knowing what comes next, enabling you to stay confident when speaking in public. 7. Work on building up confidence levels before delivering a speech. Visualize yourself succeeding in delivering a great presentation; practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or positive self-talk; or use props during practice sessions such as water bottles or stress balls if needed to remain calm during the real thing!

What strategies can I use to reduce my anxiety when giving a speech?

1. Plan Ahead: Create an outline of your speech beforehand and practice it multiple times to become familiar with the content. Doing a trial run with the audience can also help you get used to speaking in front of people.

2. Visualize Success: Positive visualization is a great way to reduce anxiety before giving a speech. Imagine yourself confidently delivering the speech while feeling relaxed and composed.

3. Get Organized: Make sure you have all the materials necessary for your presentation, including notes, slides, etc., to reduce any additional stress that may come from not having what you need when you speak.

4. Take Deep Breaths: Before and during the speech, take a few deep breaths as this will help calm nerves and make sure your breathing is regulated throughout the duration of your presentation.

5. Speak Slowly: It is common to feel anxious while giving a speech and try to rush through it too quickly. Speaking slowly helps maintain composure while delivering your message effectively and clearly.

6. Pay Attention to Your Body: Your posture, stance, movements , facial expressions can all influence how confident you appear to your audience and how nervous you may be feeling inside. Check in with yourself frequently throughout the presentation and correct any tense body language or physical actions if needed.

7. Focus on the Audience: If you notice that your anxiety levels are growing as you present, shift your focus onto the audience instead of yourself as this will help refocus your attention away from negative thoughts that may arise from fear or insecurity.

8. Make Eye Contact: Establishing eye contact with your audience is a key confidence-builder for public speakers—it shows that you’re strong, engaged with them, and receptive to feedback or questions they might have regarding your speech topic .

9. Practice Positive Affirmations: Positive thoughts will boost your self-confidence as well as your mood which can help increase performance quality significantly during speeches or presentations in general—so don’t forget to tell yourself “you can do it!” several times throughout the day leading up to the event!

10. Seek Support of Friends & Family: Many experienced public speakers suggest seeking support of close friends & family members prior and during their speeches—not only does it allow helpful critique regarding content but it also creates a more comfortable atmosphere while speaking which can reduce pre-speech jitters drastically.

Module 8: Delivering Your Speech

Articulation, pitch, and rate, learning objectives.

• Identify techniques to use effective articulation.
• Identify effective rates of speaking.

Articulation

Once you’ve mastered controlling your breath as you speak, next let’s look at how you speak. If you have ever had someone ask you to repeat a word, you may suffer from poor diction.  Articulation , or diction , is what helps the listener not just hear the spoken word but also understand it.

Articulation is how clearly the speaker pronounces words. When some sounds are slurred together or dropped out of a word, the word may not be understood by the audience. To use proper articulation, a speaker must use their articulators : tongue, teeth, and lips. When a speaker uses improper diction, the hearer cannot make out the word spoken and often requests a repeat of what was said. In public speaking, a hearer cannot request a repeat and therefore poor articulation can make a listener tune out. It is important to say all parts of the word in order to speak clearly. This often requires slowing down your speaking pace , more on that topic to follow, and using your lips, teeth, and tongue to their full capacity.

Tongue twisters are a great way to force the speaker to slow down and pronounce each part of the word. Try saying, “Seven silly swans swam silently seaward” three times quickly. If that was easy for you, s’s may be your forte! Each individual speaker will struggle with certain sounds specific to them, or have developed a regionalism that makes them pronounce a word the way they’ve always heard it that doesn’t work in other parts of the country. A technique to making sure your speech isn’t affected by problem words is to note which sounds are struggles and circling the parts of the word on the speech outline. This serves as a reminder to take extra care when speaking that word out loud. Identifying these barriers to communication will improve the understanding of the audience and give polish to your speech.

In addition to speaking clearly, finding vocal variety in your speaking voice will help the audience stay awake. A voice that lacks variety can be described as monotone. In comedies, teachers are often portrayed as having a monotone voice, as in this famous scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off :

You can view the transcript for “Bueller Bueller Bueller” here (opens in new window) .

When the audience hears a monotone voice, they don’t stay engaged.

Much like a keyboard, your voice has many notes to it called pitches. Your voice can speak on higher notes and lower notes much like when someone sings. To explore the notes in your voice, try this exercise. Stand up on your toes and lift your hands in the air. Say ah at the highest point of your voice, which makes sound come out, and drop your wrists, elbows, and head over as you slide down to your lowest note. Reverse it and come back up trying to go higher and lower each time. Having discovered how much pitch variety you have to work with, you can now put arrows into your speech outline reminding you to raise the pitch or lower it on some words or phrases to be more effective.

Chicago rapper Twista can clock 280 words per minute or 598 syllables in 55 seconds (a Guinness record). Don’t try to do this in your speech.

Next to being loud enough, the most commonly identified speech problem is speaking too quickly. Raise your hand if you’ve ever been told you’re a fast talker. Controlling the rate at which one speaks is often one of the most challenging things a speaker has to do. When nerves kick in, it can be really hard to pull back on the speed that you’re talking at as sometimes you just want to finish and get out of the spotlight. Speaking too quickly can also make your audience tune out from listening to the speech. You’ve put all this time into the speech, so let’s make sure the audience hears it. According to The National Center for Voice and Speech, the average speaking rate for English speakers in the U.S. is around 150 words per minute. In a public speaking situation, you’ll want to speak slower than average, around 125–150 words per minute.

One of the ways to control your rate of speech is to make sure you are taking enough breaths. As we discussed before, if you lose control of your breathing, the rate of speech also gets out of control. One of the ways to make sure you breathe enough is to place a mark next to the word in a sentence on your outline to remind yourself to breathe there. A backwards slash (/) is a good signal to use. In order to see if the breaths selected work, read it out loud. If you find yourself gasping for air at the end of that sentence, there should be another breath added. Punctuations are the clues for where to breathe in a sentence too, so let those be your guide.

Recording yourself is one way to get a sense of how quickly you’re going. Play the recording back and listen to see if you can hear and understand every word. If not, write notes on your notecards that say SLOW DOWN or BREATHE to remind yourself to do so. Once you’ve mastered a controlled rate of speech, then you are able to play with speeding up and slowing down certain sections. Finding this variety of speed will further engage your audience. Think about telling the climax of a story. Sometimes you pause at certain moments to build suspense. That’s what you want to do in public speaking too. Sometimes you speed up to tell a story with momentum so the audience goes along for the ride too. Finding variety in your rate can be thrilling and the icing to a great speech.

To watch: Rébecca Kleinberger, “Why you don’t like the sound of your own voice”

In this talk, MIT voice expert and researcher Rébecca Kleinberger talks about the three voices humans have: the outward voice, the inward voice, and the inner voice. Kleinberger’s account here helps to explain why our own voice—which we hear all the time—sounds so unfamiliar to us when we hear it in a recording. It also speaks to the need to  practice listening to your voice in recordings.

You can view the transcript for “Why you don’t like the sound of your own voice | Rébecca Kleinberger” here (opens in new window) .

What to watch for:

Kleinberger’s speech is fascinating, and offers a great deal of insight into the way we perceive (or fail to perceive) our own voices. Interestingly, although she speaks at length about why we don’t recognize  our voice, Kleinberger doesn’t really answer the question of why we don’t  like  our voices. At the end of the speech, some listeners may still be wondering why they don’t like the voice they hear in recordings of themselves, and what they could do about it. This should serve as a reminder that if you have a catchy title with a question in it, you have to make sure you answer the question in your speech!

• Twista. Authored by : Adam Bielawski. Located at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twista#/media/File:Twista_101109_photoby_Adam-Bielawski.jpg . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Bueller Bueller Bueller. Authored by : blc3211. Located at : https://youtu.be/f4zyjLyBp64 . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• Why you don't like the sound of your own voice | Rebecca Kleinberger. Provided by : TED. Located at : https://youtu.be/g3vSYbT1Aco . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License
• Articulation, Pitch, and Rate. Authored by : Misti Wills with Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

Words per Minute Calculator

Table of contents

Have you ever wondered how long it takes to deliver a speech? Or how much time you need to read a book? This words per minute calculator (or WPM calculator for short) will help you convert between the number of words and the time taken to read or say. This way, you will not only learn how many words is a 5-minute speech but also how long it takes you to read a document with 2000 words.

If you want to know how much time you need to finish a book, head straight to our reading speed calculator !

Words per minute (speech)

In order to determine how long your presentation takes, you first need to find your speaking speed — how many words per minute of speech you can deliver. For example, the average speaking speed in English is 130 wpm (words per minute). If, however, you are frequently told that you speak very slowly or very fast, you should adjust this value accordingly.

You could also measure your speaking speed experimentally. Set a timer to one minute and start reading a passage of text aloud. Once the timer stops, count the words you managed to read. This number is your words per minute speech speed — you can input it directly into our calculator after selecting the radio button Other .

Words per minute (reading)

The same principle as your speaking speed applies to your reading speed — the number of words per minute of reading. The average reading speed for the English language is between 170 and 240 wpm , depending on the text difficulty and your English ability.

Naturally, you can measure your reading speed and input it directly into this reading words per minute calculator. All you have to do is set a timer to one minute and start reading a book (or an e-book ), this time silently. Once the timer rings, count the words you read and input the number into the respective field (below the radio button Other in the reading section).

How many words is a 5 minute speech?

Once you know your speaking and reading speed, the calculations are a piece of cake! All you have to do is input the number of words you have to say into this words per minute calculator, which will tell you how long your presentation should take.

Of course, you can also use this calculator to figure out the maximum number of words in a speech with a limited time frame — for example, 5 minutes. Let's look at how to use this tool in more detail.

Choose whether you will speak to an audience or silently read the text. In this case, we are going to choose speech.

Select your speaking speed . We will stay with the average value of 130 wpm.

Determine the duration of the speech — here, we will pick a 5-minute elevator pitch.

Multiply the reading speed by the time to find out how many words are in a 5-minute speech:

130 × 5 = 650 words

Your speech can have a maximum of 650 words.

How many words per minute in a speech?

The average speaking speed in English is 130 words per minute . However, the average speaking rate changes according to the task before a speaker — for presentations, it goes down to 100-120 wpm, while for YouTubers, it's up to 150-160 wpm. When picking the right pace, you should also consider your audience, e.g., the presence of kids or non-native speakers!

How many words per 10 minute speech?

To deliver a successful ten-minute talk, prepare between 1000-1200 words. The absolute maximum you should have is 1300 words.

How many words are in a five minute speech?

A 5-minute speech should have between 500-600 words. Be careful not to exceed 650 words, or you'll talk too fast and, as a result, lose the audience!

How do I calculate the number of words in a talk?

To determine the number of words in a talk that will last m minutes:

Decide on the speaking rate r :

• Average: 130 wpm (words per minute);
• Slow: 100 wpm; and
• Fast: 160 wpm.

Multiply the speaking rate by the time you have in minutes:

The result in 2 is the number of words your talk should contain.

Number of words

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Your complete guide to writing a better speech

Reading time:  Just over 6 minutes

Here is everything I know about how to write a better speech and some detailed thoughts on how to deliver a better one as well….

I love TED talks,  and perhaps you do as well, but be aware of the significant problem they’ve created in our society. Everyone now expects  all  public speakers to be as charming, interesting, funny and breathtakingly articulate.  Ken Robinson ,   Elizabeth Gilbert   and  Susan Cain  have set a mighty high bar for the rest of us to try to clear.

I run lots of workshops  and I try to make them engaging and informative but I don’t consider myself the  ne plus ultra  of public speakers. Still, I have written many speeches for industry leaders and CEOs. I’m also a debate coach at my local high school and spend two hours each week helping grade 8 to 12 students become more comfortable with speaking — arguing, really — in public. So here is my comprehensive guide on how to write and deliver a better speech or presentation:

10 ways to write a better speech

1-Learn your time limit and calculate your word count.  The average person speaks at somewhere between 125 and 150 words per minute. It’s almost always better to speak more slowly than too quickly. Thus, if you’re speaking for 20 minutes, you want a total word count of somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 words. Be careful! I once got the math wrong and saddled a good friend with a 48-minute speech when he was trying for 30. Yikes!

2-Once you have experience as a speaker,  work hard to avoid word-for-word speeches unless you have a teleprompter. Your delivery will be more interesting and more natural if you speak from notes or an outline rather than a script. Memorize an introduction if you like, to help get yourself going but use just notes for the rest. Yes, your speech may not be “perfect.” But having a few mistakes is okay if they help you improve your delivery. Your ability to be interesting and to engage with the audience will make up for any small lapses.

3-No matter how long the speech, always divide it into five parts:   an introduction, point 1, point 2, point 3 and a conclusion. Or, in other words, tell people what you’re  going  to tell them, tell them what you  want to say  and then wrap up by telling them  what you just said.  This format is adaptable to a speech of just about any length but I’d divide a 20-minute speech as follows:

Introduction: 2 minutes (250 words)

Point 1: 5 minutes (625 words)

Point 2: 5 minutes (625 words)

Point 3: 5 minutes (625 words)

Conclusion: 3 minutes (375 words)

Total word count: 2,500 words (20 minutes)

If you’re thin on ideas for the three points, consider using a  mindmap  to help you. Mindmapping is the best way for you to make your speech more interesting, more personal and more coherent.

4-Shower your audience with  stories  rather than drown them in facts.  If you have a story (anecdote or example) to illustrate each of your three points, so much the better. Stories are “sticky” — that is, people remember them. I once interviewed a CEO for whom I’d been hired to write a speech. The man was utterly  bereft  of stories. I was at my wit’s end until I decided that I’d have to lard his speech with some stories of my own that I could carefully repurpose to make them sound as though they’d come from him. Don’t tell me that business people don’t want to hear stories. Of course they do! Have you ever listened to  Warren Buffett   speak? Or  Bill Gates ?  Or  Josh Linkner ?  Stories are the spoonful of sugar that make the medicine (facts) go down. Think about the worst speech you’ve ever heard in your life. Now, reflect on the best. I can guarantee that the former was filled with facts and the latter with stories. Human beings are hardwired to appreciate stories and the sooner you stop fighting that fact, the sooner you’ll be able to write a memorable speech

5-Have a purpose but make it a modest one.  Don’t expect your audience to be able to walk away reciting your 10-point corporate plan. Instead, express the  single  key message of your speech — the one important thing you want your audience to be able to remember, for sure — as a single sentence. Write it on a piece of paper and stick it to your bulletin board so you can see it as you’re writing your speech. Keep this purpose at the top of your mind at all times.

6-Understand that repetition is mandatory  because speaking is analogue, not digital. People don’t listen to speeches in the same way they read books. You talk, your words travel into their ears and if they happen to be thinking about what to make for dinner that night, your message will not get through. Worse, your audience has no “rewind” button they can hit. (If their attention has strayed while reading, they can flip back in the book.) This is why you MUST repeat the points you are trying to make at least three times: once in the intro, once when you make them and once again in your conclusion. It may seem overly repetitious to you, but it won’t to your audience.

7) Don’t waste your opening.  I see speakers do this in three primary ways. First, they spend too much time shuffling paper. Don’t do this! Be organized and ready to go as soon as you take the stage. The second mistake is they spend the first 45 seconds thanking an endless number of people. No! Don’t do that! The first 45 seconds are your most precious chance to grab the attention of your audience. Thank the person who introduced you with one brief sentence and then dive into an attention-getting opening. (You can give thanks to others, if you need to, towards the end of your speech.) Finally, some people feel obliged to begin with lame opening jokes that are unrelated to the actual speech topic. These always feel fake and tacked on. You want humour to be organic — that is, related to the topic you’re covering. The best way to begin a speech is with an interesting fact or an attention-getting story. No exceptions!

8-Write for the ear rather than the eye.   Make sure the language you use is easy to say — even if you’re writing the speech for someone else. Say it out loud many times, so you can check to ensure there are no stumbling blocks. For example, the line “a lower-cost alternative to traditional plans” is harder to say than it looks (try it). Change that kind of language, fast. Use concrete, everyday words (for example, “use” instead of “utilize”) and make sure your sentences are short enough that you don’t have to gasp for breath in the middle of them. Be sure to use contractions, because that’s how real people speak. And throw in the occasional rhetorical question (“Why would I say that?”) to engage the audience.

9-Be yourself.   Barack Obama   and  Winston Churchill  are/were both excellent speakers. They’re also totally different. While you can gain pointers from observing great speakers, you need to be true to yourself. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. And if you are writing a speech for someone else, it’s important you spend significant time interviewing them and learning  their   speech patterns — as well as their stories. Are there any expressions that they use regularly? Can you work them into the speech?

10-Be brief.  If you’re asked to speak for 60 minutes, make it 45 or 50. If the goal is 20, make it 18. If the target is five, aim for 3.5. In the history of the world, no one ever complained about a speech that was too short. Your audience will love you for this.

7 ways to  deliver  a better speech

1-Practice more than once.  I know this is hard, particularly if the speech is long, but I spoke once with a TED talk deliverer and she told me that she’d spent more than three weeks, full time, writing and practicing her speech. In fact, she had delivered it more than 48 times before the big day. Was she confident? You bet! (For anything less than a TED talk, you don’t need 48 practice times. Three times might be enough for a long one; five to seven times for a short one.) Whatever you do, remember the expression: Professionals practice in private; amateurs practice in public.

2-Record yourself.  Many of us pad our speeches with verbal filler such as “umm,” “ahh,” “you know,” “like,” etc. The prime minister of my own country,  Justin Trudeau  does this with “uh” and I cringe almost every time I hear him speak. To ensure you don’t make this mistake, record yourself using your cell phone. If you discover you’ve used verbal fillers then slow down your speech and try to be mindful of  not  using them. Slow, careful speaking is the answer. This is been a project of mine for the last two years. I used to be addicted to “umm” and now I use it dramatically less frequently.

3 – Arrive early on delivery day.  Don’t rush to the podium at the very last minute. Instead, get to your venue a good 15 to 30 minutes early so you can scope out the room, become familiar with it and maybe test the sound system. Then — this is the important advice — position yourself in the audience and start talking to people  as they arrive . This will surprise and disarm them and give you a chance to get to humanize them a little bit.

4-Calm your nerves.  For many people, public speaking is more fear-inducing than the idea of death. Here’s how to get over that idea: Practice your speech beforehand. If you have practiced adequately then your body will already know what to do, even if your nervous system is vibrating. Pay attention to your breathing when speaking. If we take shallow, inadequate breaths then our bodies start to panic — I can’t breathe! I might die! Talk yourself through slow, deep belly breaths to help calm your nerves. Have your notes on firm paper so it won’t shake. (Cardstock is better than regular paper for this reason.) Finally, many people have discovered that pressing their index finger to their thumb is also a calming manoeuvre (it’s known as  gyan mudra ). No one in the audience will ever notice you doing it.  

5-Use your eyes effectively.  We all have the same two powerful public speaking tools in our arsenals: our eyes. Many speakers waste this ammunition by looking directly  above  the heads of their audience or by fanning their eyes vaguely across the group as a whole. Instead, I suggest you look directly in the eyes of ONE of the people in the audience. Do this for at least a full sentence at a time, longer if you can bear it. Then switch to another person and do exactly the same thing. Be sure to move to different parts of the room as you do this. And what happens if the person becomes embarrassed and looks away? Move on to someone else. This human-to-human contact should be every speaker’s secret weapon. Also, remember to smile. People enjoy seeing cheerful speakers.  

6-Vary your speaking speed.  Audiences sometimes get bored listening to speeches — even good ones — and that’s why you should try to make your delivery as interesting and varied as your words. One of the ways you can do that is to change your speed. If you have a story or statement that excites you then speak quickly so that the speed of your talking matches your excitement. If you’re saying something important or dramatic, then S-L-O-W down for emphasis.

7-Be careful with your volume.  Some speakers seem to like to shout or shriek. Recently, I was obliged to watch a debate where the speaker spoke far too loudly for the rather small room. I spent the entire time thinking, “please, dial back your volume” and I missed almost all of her content because my ears were too busy quivering. This is another good reason for arriving early in the room so you can test your volume. Just remember that once the room becomes stuffed with people, their bodies will act like a sound buffer and you may need to speak up.

Becoming an effective speaker  can increase your sales, improve your effectiveness and boost your career. It’s worth investing your time to develop this crucial skill.

* My video podcast last week  answered a question about how to budget your writing time effectively. See it  here  and consider subscribing. If you have a question about writing you’d like me to address, be sure to send it to me by  email , twitter or Skype and I’ll try to answer it in the podcast.

How do you keep your speeches or presentations interesting and relevant? We can all learn from each other so, please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the “comments” section below. Anyone who comments on today’s post  (or any others) by March 31/17, will be put in a draw for a copy of  Ifferisms , by Mardy Grothe. Please, scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the “related posts” links, below. Note that you don’t have to join the commenting software to post. See  here  to learn how to post as a guest.

Speech calculator:  how long does it take to deliver your speech?

With this speech calculator, you can easily calculate how long it will take you to deliver a speech.

How many words per minute?

In the English language, people speak about 140 words per minute. A fast speaker will get to 170 words per minute, a slow speaker will use around 110 words.

Professional speechwriters use this speech calculator to find out how long a speech takes.

Copy your full text and paste it in the box below:

The entire analysis happens within your browser. The text will NOT be stored and NOT be sent over the web.

Word count:

Your speech rate:

Speech duration:

FAQ’s

How many words is a 3 minute speech  .

A speaker with an average speaking speed will need 420 words for a 3 minute speech. A fast speaker will need 510 words while a slow speaker will only need 330 words.

How many words is a 5 minute speech?  

A speaker with an average speaking speed will need 700 words for a 5 minutes speech. A fast speaker will need 850 words for the same speech length. A slow speaker will only need 550 words.

Is this a word count calculator?  

The speech calculator is a word count calculator. Insert your text and the tool will automatically calculate the word count.  It will then also calculate the speech length depending on the selected talking speed.

How to best select the right speaking speed?

Fast, average or slow? The answer depends on the speaker, the speech type and the speech setting.

The speaking speed of the speaker

Some speakers are natural fast or slow speakers. The best speakers keep a variance during their speeches. They speed up to keep momentum and slow down to put special emphasis on other parts.

The speech type

The type of speech matters a lot in selecting the right speech speed. If you read the whole speech word for word from paper then your average speech speed will be lower. If you intend to use the written speech as speaker notes then your average speaking speed will be much higher.

The speech setting

An informal setting will have a faster average speaking speed compared to a more formal setting.

Keeping all three factors in mind you will able make a better judgement about selecting the right speech speed in the speech calculator.

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Speech Timing Calculator

By dave bricker.

Replace the sample text with a speech of your own. The word count will be calculated in the field below. The word count can only be changed by changing the text.

Enter a target word count if your content is limited to a certain number of words. Edit your speech until the actual word count matches your target word count. (This field doesn't calculate anything; it's just an optional place for you to keep the target word count handy.)

The Speech Time Calculator will determine the duration of your speech based on the word count and the speed of delivery.

Change the delivery speed to suit your speaking style. The default value of 120 words-per-minute accommodates pauses and audience interaction. 100–150 WPM is comfortable. 150–160 WPM is the upper range where speakers can comfortably vocalize words. Auctioneers sometimes speak 250–400 WPM but that's a freak show! Slight adjustments in delivery speed will help shrink or fill a speech of a given word count to fit the time allotted.

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Related Posts:

3-minute speeches: Complete guide on writing, preparing and delivering (with examples)

Hrideep barot.

• Body Language & Delivery , Presentation , Public Speaking , Speech Topics , Speech Writing

Although 3-minute speeches may seem brief, a lot of words and ideas may be said at that time. Despite the time constraint, if you are conversant with the subject matter, you may prepare for your three-minute speech swiftly. The secret is to create a strong outline that allows you to add or remove details based on how much time you have left.

Words in a 3-minute speech

An average speech of three minutes in length would have roughly 390 words at a regular speech rate of 130 words per minute (wpm) .

Daphne Gray-Grant, a speech and writing coach, discovered that the typical speaking tempo is 125 to 150 words per minute or 375 to 450 words for a three-minute speech .

Read this article for more information: How long should a speech be?

Writing 3-minute speeches

An engaging speech may capture the attention of the crowd and properly capture the spirit of the event. On the other side, if it is poorly written or disorganised, a dozing audience will miss your point. There is no one ideal structure for a speech. You should instead choose what will resonate with your audience the most.

1. Importance of Stories

Beginning with a story engages the audience, and using stories to break up your speech illustrates the concepts you’re talking about using instances from real life. You might also choose to tell snippets of a single story throughout your speech to illustrate your point. If you’re speaking to a group of professional women with kids, for instance, a story about work-life balance is appropriate. Pick a story that is relevant to your audience. Infrequently, if ever, are overtly political or religious statements appropriate.

2. Simply the Facts

It could be advisable to stick to only the facts while presenting a subject while looking for methods to make them applicable to your audience. But no matter what you talk about, keep your speech’s goal in mind at all times. You run the risk of losing the attention of your audience, and making a point with a long, winding speech isn’t particularly effective.

3. Ordered Chronologically

Your tale or the information you’re conveying must make sense in the order you present it, which typically entails using chronological order. If you’re discussing company law, for instance, you should start with earlier laws and tell a tale about how those rules have been modified or updated. It is feasible to deliver a speech in reverse chronological sequence, but you must make sure your audience understands this to avoid misunderstanding. Give the audience frequent dates or other points of reference to serve as the context for the timing of your speech.

4. Organizing Advice

By outlining your speech, you can make sure that you follow the proper flow and concentrate on the most important points rather than getting lost in the weeds of details. Make a rough draught of your speech, then practise it so that it flows naturally before you give it. Take a list of the key points you want to discuss in your speech and consult a subject-matter expert for any information that is either missing or superfluous to ensure that you cover what you need to.

5. Use of Diction

We select our words based on the circumstances we find ourselves in and the audience we are speaking to. The language you would use with your friends might not be appropriate for your boss. Pick the appropriate words for your audience in order to deliver a speech that is effective. The language you use must be clear to them. It is preferable to stay away from using slang because your language must also be acceptable for the topic. You do not need to poke fun at the audience or try to be amusing. Since audiences are able to tell when a speaker isn’t being sincere, speak from the heart and don’t just say what you think the audience wants to hear. You’ll be able to express yourself more strongly and with more emotion as a result.

6. Speech Patterns

Different speeches are needed for different circumstances. A three-minute presentation in class about your ideal job has a different format than a speech to your graduating class. Learning the appropriate format for various speech kinds is simple. There are various varieties of speeches, all of them ranging in form and length. Impromptu, demonstration, educational, persuading, or tribute speeches are a few examples. Each speech is appropriate for a particular situation in life. Select the speech structure that best fits your circumstance, then formats your speech in line with it. Be mindful of your introduction. Strong opening approaches, sometimes known as “hooks,” come in a variety of forms, including tales, rhetorical questions, shocking claims, striking facts, or simply acting in an unexpected or out-of-the-ordinary manner.

Preparing 3-minute speeches

One of the best strategies to make sure you deliver a compelling presentation is to practise your speech beforehand. Consider using these hints to aid in your preparation:

• Your speech should be organised logically with an introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Before giving a speech, frequently practise and rehearse it. Try practising in front of a mirror or with friends acting as your audience. Use a timer to help you pace your speech, and be careful to do so.
• Learn about the podium or other location where the speech will be delivered. Find out the size of the stage, the location of any steps or impediments, and the best places to enter and exit.
• Always keep a professional impression while dressing comfortably .
• Regardless of whether a speech is humorous, serious, or technical, visual aids should fit it. The primary function of visual aids is to facilitate audience comprehension and reinforce key ideas of a speech in distinctive and engaging ways.

Practising 3-minute speeches

It’s common for jittery, distracting body language and a lack of preparation to ruin otherwise effective speeches. Practice your speech after you’ve planned and written it.  You have not practised enough if you need to read your speech word-for-word from your notes. You will feel more assured as you practise more. The best way to get rid of tense body language is to have a buddy videotape you speaking so you can see it repeatedly. While speaking, pay attention to how your hands are moving; they should be at ease.

Pay attention to how you stand; you should be tall and straight. Be mindful of your eye contact. Keep your eyes off of your notes, the floor, or the ceiling. Change your jewellery if it is noisy. Don’t touch your face or hair. Do not clasp your hands behind or in front of your back, and refrain from putting your hands in your pockets. Before giving your speech, repeat this procedure multiple times to make sure you have broken these undesirable habits.

The Big Day

Arrive early at the location on the day of your presentation. Wear clean, acceptable apparel, and go for the look that gets you the most compliments. Make sure your cell phone is off and remove any large objects from your pockets. Check your loudness in the room before you start to make sure you are loud enough. Make sure you can make eye contact with those seated at the audience’s margins by paying attention to where they are seated. Check the location in advance to make sure there are no obstacles like wires or cables that could cause you to trip if you wish to move while speaking. All of these actions will support your confidence grows.

Don’t try to improvise during your speech; instead, speak as you did when you were practising. Keep in mind that feeling anxious before, during, and especially after your speech is natural. This is neither a flaw nor a weakness. Use your anxious energy to make your speech lively and engaging if you have done your preparation and practising well.

Delivering 3-minute speeches

Public speaking that is effective and confident should appear natural. In truth, it takes most people a lot of time and practice before they feel comfortable speaking in front of an audience. To overcome stage anxiety, present yourself with confidence, and keep your audience interested, you can employ a variety of tactics.

1. Avoid showing any nervousness while speaking.

Imagine yourself as someone who is imparting knowledge to others who are willing to listen. Don’t worry too much about how you’ll come across while nervous: When a speaker claims to be really frightened, audiences can not help but notice their anxiety. You perceive it as far worse than your listeners do. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re anxious as long as you act calm.

2. Create positive body language

The grin is the most significant facial expression. This forges an immediate connection with your audience and will win them over. Use your facial expressions to emphasise important points: Your speech will look more believable as a result.

It’s important to stand up straight, space your feet slightly apart, and keep your arms at your sides. Do not sway or place your hands on your hips when speaking. You’ll come across as more assured and credible if you appear grounded. Avoid making “closed” motions like crossing your arms or knees or posing for a picture with your arms behind your back. A mental barrier is put up between you and your audience as a result.

3. Use gestures for achievement

To make your message easier for the audience to follow, use your arms and hands. Effective, self-assured body language captures listeners’ attention. Together, your body and words can convey a potent statement. Make sure to vary your gestures to avoid coming out as a robot.

To effectively emphasise ideas, adjust your body language to the size of the area you are working in. Make powerful motions when giving a speech! Tentative, hesitant acts might give you a doubtful, unconvincing appearance.

4. Make eye contact to captivate others.

Make as much eye contact with your audience as you can to engage them (and appear interested in them). Don’t only focus on one welcoming face. Make sure you engage the entire audience by looking at the folks at the rear and on the sides in addition to the front. Observe the crowd more intently than your notes. Not something you read from, notes should be prompt.

How to make a 3-minute speech interesting?

People worry that they will have to “dumb down” their important research due to time constraints, however, this is not the case!

A punchy message and an engaging brief speech can shed light on the breadth of your research and make the worth of your thoughts clear.

If you make the most of your three minutes and plan your speech effectively, you will have plenty of time to accomplish this.

• Deliver a message that is quite obvious.
• Present a “top and tail” component.
• To clarify a complex concept, use metaphors and other verbal illustrations.
• Instead of “making a formal speech,” speak as if you are having a conversation with your listeners.

General topics for 3-minute speeches

3-minute speeches for students.

Everyone has interests, and everyone enjoys discussing them. You know, hobbies could also be passions. Simple inquiries to pose include:

• What interests you?
• Why are your activities so appealing to you?
• When do you engage in these pastimes?
• What are your hobbies, how long have you been doing them, and how did you start?
• What pastimes did you once enjoy but no longer do?
• Is it necessary to engage in hobbies? Why or why not?

Everyone enjoys music, and the majority of people have extremely strong feelings about it, especially when it comes to the music they enjoy (or detest) the most. Simple inquiries to make include the following:

• What genres of music do you enjoy or find boring?
• What emotions do various musical genres evoke in you?
• What genres of music are produced in your nation?
• What song, artist, or album is your favourite?
• What music is now in vogue in your nation?

3. Motivation

Whether or whether the pupils are motivated, it is a good idea to talk about motivation in order to motivate them. Examples of questions are:

• In general, how motivated are you?
• What spurs you on to action?
• What inspires people to accomplish the most?
• What actions do you do when you lack motivation?
• How can one effectively inspire others?

Everybody has objectives, and discussing them really makes us more motivated to take action. Goal-setting can be aided by sharing them with others. An excellent set of inquiries are:

• What are your present life objectives?
• How are your goals going to be attained?
• How frequently do you set yourself goals?
• What objectives have you previously set and attained?
• How do you feel after achieving your objectives?

Everyone has dreams, sometimes on a nightly basis, and discussing them in class is a terrific activity since it encourages pupils to be imaginative and even whimsical. Excellent inquiries on this subject include:

• How would you characterise your dreams?
• What do dreams represent to you?
• What percentage of your dreams can you recall? Why?
• What are your thoughts about prophecies? Are they genuine?
• What are some instances of your most cherished dreams?

Go through this article for more valuable insights: Speech titles and topics: Everything you need to know

Examples of 3-minute speeches

• A 3-minute speech on the topic “Life”.

Good morning to everyone in this room. I’m here today to speak about life and share my opinions with all of you. Life is a never-ending process that must come to an end eventually. Life is all about creating and adoring oneself. a quotation for you: “Life can only be comprehended by living it backwards.” The potential to live a meaningful life and help others do the same is presented by life itself. It makes no difference how long you live. However, how well you lead a good life matter. Death is a constant menace to our life. Everyone will eventually die, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to live life to the fullest or pursue our ambitions. A person is only intelligent when they are prepared to face their destiny when it calls, but in the meantime, they should cherish every moment. There is an air of preparation. Every person goes through a journey in life where they must cross the bridge of death in order to awaken to eternal life. Life itself is a genuinely priceless gift. Every moment we have in our life gives us the chance to do something to grow and display our virtues. Every instant unlocks the path for us to accept blessings. The reality is that both good and bad things happen to us in life. What matters most is how we respond. God has given us life as a gift in the hope that we will do our best to make it meaningful. Each of us is a special individual. Respect your uniqueness since no one was born exactly like you and no one ever will be. I frequently come across people who accuse God of something they themselves do not possess. They constantly curse their lives. But do they understand how priceless this life is in and of itself? If we make life worthwhile and strive diligently for positivity. Finally, I’ll say that we ought to make life valuable. Life should be made beautiful by the affection of our family and friends. By carrying out our responsibilities in our families, our workplaces, society, and the larger globe, life can be more beautiful and meaningful.

2. A 3-minute speech by Aaron Beverly who was the 2 nd place winner of the 2016 World Championship of Public Speaking

3. A 3-minute speech by Emma Watson on Gender Equality

Final words

Speaking for three minutes is undoubtedly difficult to master. You must unquestionably conduct an adequate study and choose crucial issues to include in your speech. It is crucial to realise that you must deliver the most essential information first while speaking in a restricted amount of time, such as a 3-minute speech.

A three-minute speech is undoubtedly a wonderful starting point for public speaking. This is because you need to communicate with your audience more effectively when you just have a short amount of time. The speech ought to be concise, pertinent, and clear. Be more relatable to the audience and speak for them. To be the best, you must improve your communication abilities.

Read this article for more useful information: Writing and delivering spectacular short speeches: A-Z guide

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Powers of 10: Time Scales in Public Speaking

Have you ever thought about the relationship between time and public speaking ?

On the surface, you engage your audience second by second, stringing together words into sentences that, over the duration of your presentation, may last minutes or perhaps hours.

Yet, the impact of your speaking experiences may last days, weeks, months, or even years — for you and for those in your audiences.

In this article, we examine time scales ranging from a tenth of a second to hundreds of years, and consider how each of these scales is relevant to you as a speaker .

One Tenth of a Second

A typical speaking rate is 150 words per minute, or 2.5 words per second. This means the average time between words is just four tenths of a second. When you consider pauses, a syllable leaves your lips in about a tenth of a second. (Your brain, of course, has to operate on a much faster scale to keep up.)

In one tenth of a second, perceptions form in your audience’s mind  — either positive or negative. It could be an inflection that makes them cringe, or a visual that evokes a warm memory. It could be a facial expression which betrays a lack of sincerity, or a crackling voice which signals genuine emotion.

Pauses in your speech  range from a short “comma pause” (about one second) to longer pauses for rhetorical effect (lasting several seconds). The duration of pauses is critical; if it’s too long, you’ve got an uncomfortable pause.

The enemy of the pause is the filler word:  utterances which include “um”, “uh”, and “ah”. Everyone has a few filler words, but they are more common among speakers who are inexperienced, unprepared, or especially nervous. Skilled speakers understand that, instead of filler words, you can simply pause while you collect your thoughts; you don’t need a filler word to mark the moment.

Although the audience  perceives  slide visuals on the sub-second level, slide recognition occurs on the order of a second. Well-designed slides are recognized easily, and their meaning is associated the words of a speaker quickly. Particularly confusing slides can cause several seconds (or more) of high cognitive processing.

Ten Seconds

Effective eye contact is achieved when your gaze finds an audience member, and then stays there for perhaps a sentence or two — generally in the ten second range. Eye contact which is significantly shorter — like a ping pong ball — will seem insincere. Eye contact which is significantly longer may be uncomfortable, and perhaps leave other audience members feeling “left out.”

“ You should be able to clearly summarize your main message within ten seconds. ”

Ten seconds is also the range in which complete sentences are spoken , including most memorable phrases and quotations. You should be able to clearly summarize your main message within ten seconds.

One minute is about the length of good story which a speaker might tell. Stories significantly shorter probably do not develop adequate conflict, emotion, or a significant message. Stories significantly longer could likely benefit either from aggressive editing (removing superfluous details which detract from the story) or splitting in two (in case more than one point is being made).

One minute is about the maximum time needed to introduce a speaker in most contexts. Any longer than this, and the introducer risks boring the audience and stealing attention away from the speaker.

Ten Minutes

Ten minutes is the upper limit for what many people might call a “short” speech . In ten minutes, you’ve only got time to properly develop one central idea, while supporting it with several stories and supporting points. It requires precise focus and discipline from a speaker.

Many popular formats hover around this average.

• Speaking formats such as Pecha Kucha (six minutes forty seconds) or Ignite (five minutes) restrict speakers down further and yet are wildly popular social events.
• TED talks (which have been reviewed numerous times on Six Minutes ) come in various lengths, but the longest top out at 18 minutes.

Ten minutes is long enough to read most  articles on Six Minutes , or another speaking blog. These bite-sized lessons are intended to motivate, instruct, and challenge you to improve your skills.

In a longer speaking session (e.g. a training session), ten minutes is a rule of thumb for switching gears . It’s wise to vary your technique, switch formats, and otherwise add variety to your session to keep the energy of your session high.

One hour is a common length of a keynote address  or the corporate staple known as the noon-hour seminar . One hour provides time for a speaker to cover their topic in much more depth and breadth, as well as allowing for an extended question and answer (Q&A) period.

One hour is the most common length of a Toastmasters meeting . It’s short enough to allow members to fit it into their hectic day, but long enough to cover the core elements (prepared speeches, evaluations, and impromptu speaking).

One hour is also a convenient duration for speech coaching sessions . A good speaking coach can work with you to explore your strengths and weaknesses, and one hour provides lots of time for repetitive practice as well.

Ten hours is the upper bound for a daily seminar , or the daily program at many conferences . Most people will get pretty fatigued with 10 hours of listening to speakers. Speaking in this environment requires special skill in balancing valuable information with lighter, less cognitively draining activities.

“ Your speech should be designed with a clear and emphatic call-to-action to do something that can reasonably be done within a day. ”

One day is a practical upper bound for someone in your audience to act on your call-to-action . Nick Morgan claims that “ the only reason to give a speech is to change the world .” I agree, and that starts by changing the thoughts and actions of individual audience members. Your speech should be designed with a clear and emphatic call-to-action. It should be challenging enough that opting to do it truly does represent change, but simple enough that it can be started within a day of your speech .

• For example, “losing 20 pounds” is not a call-to-action, but “starting an exercise habit tomorrow” is.

One day is also the outer range where you can receive useful feedback on your presentation (assuming it was not recorded, of course). The best time to solicit feedback is during (e.g. a feedback form) or immediately after (e.g. mingling with your audience) your presentation. Asking for feedback days or weeks after a presentation is not likely to reap many rewards as the feedback you receive will tend to be generic.

One week is a healthy period to practice your presentation . You certainly don’t need to practice twenty-four hours a day for a full week; thirty minutes per day will usually suffice. Rather than cramming all of your practice into the night before your presentation — or worse, the morning of your speech — consider spreading it over a week to allow yourself the time to become more comfortable with the content.

One week is also a good interval during which you should try to devote some time to developing your speaking skills . Like any habit, it’s hard to built momentum if you don’t get regular exposure. This includes both speaking before an audience, as well as support activities like working on speeches, gathering speechwriting material, or reading speaking blogs and books. It is not a coincidence that Toastmasters clubs (and most other extra-curricular activities) are designed to establish weekly participation.

Ten weeks is about the length of time it takes to establish a new speaking habit . Most of us resist change, either consciously or subconsciously. If you want to develop a new habit (speaking or otherwise), doing it once or twice will not suffice.

“ If you want to develop a new habit (speaking or otherwise), doing it once or twice will not suffice. ”

Ten weeks is the also upper limit needed to fully prepare for most major presentations . Do you think that’s too long? Well, let me bound it a bit.

• By “major presentations”, I’m talking about the ones which can make or break your career (like landing a new client) or help you achieve a personal goal (like making your case before city council for a new bylaw).
• By “fully prepare”, I mean the time from your initial idea that you’d like to give a speech to the time you deliver it. You might spend the first four or five weeks just brainstorming or researching content. Then, you might spend the next few weeks writing, practicing in front of a test audience, and honing your delivery.

One year is long enough to set yourself on a new speaking path . The new path depends a great deal on where you are now, and what your goals for the future are:

• Maybe “I’m terrified of speaking” gets replaced with “I’m scared, but I speak”.
• Maybe “I’m scared, but I speak” gets replaced with “I feel nervous, but I harness that energy”.
• Maybe “I speak when I am required to” gets replaced with “I enjoy speaking whenever I can”.

In one year, you could recognize an opportunity, develop a course, market yourself, and launch supplementary income or a whole new career.

Over a span of ten years, you can completely reshape yourself with a disciplined, committed approach to improving your communication skills, and translating that into becoming more effective at whatever path you choose to pursue.

For example, maybe devoting yourself to becoming a master communicator will launch you into management and steer your career to new heights.

One Hundred Years (and more)

You may not live this long, but your words can live one hundred years or longer.

Maybe you’re going to give a political speech that is quoted for centuries to come.

Or, more likely, you’re going to inspire your children, your grandchildren, and your audience members with a message that continues to become more and more powerful as the years pass.

Individual syllables, which last only tenths of a second on your lips, can last for hundreds of years if they are carefully chosen. Consider that the next time you are writing your speech.

Inspiration for This Article

You may be interested on know that the inspiration for this article is Powers of Ten , a classic documentary by Charles and Ray Eames which can be viewed below.

As a science geek, the documentary is fascinating, but there are lessons to be learned for speakers too. Some particularly effective techniques include:

• The use of a common, everyday occurrence to set the initial context.
• The frequent use of comparison to easily understandable distances (e.g. 100 meters: the distance a man can run in 10 seconds)
• The simple, repetitive use of 10 and the consistent pace of the documentary.

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A very interesting and original post using time over a scale from 0.1 seconds to 3.156 billion seconds (100 years). The original movie kept the same length units though. I’ve also been inspired by that movie.

In January 2010 I blogged about using decreasing powers of ten (How thin is “extremely thin”) to describe how stainless steels work. I pointed out that the passive film is about a millionth of a centimeter thick, and compared it with the 1 cm thickness of a finger. See: http://joyfulpublicspeaking.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-thin-is-extremely-thin.html

In December 2008 I blogged about how Audience size determines working distance, and thus presentation style. I considered audience sizes from one to a million. See: http://joyfulpublicspeaking.blogspot.com/2008/12/audience-size-determines-working.html

Brilliant! It is great to have you back blogging!

As always, I’ve learned something from one of your Posts, Andrew.

Thanks for sharing your insights!

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Do you wonder how long it takes to deliver your speech?

This website helps you convert the number of words into the time it takes to deliver your speech, online and for free. This tool is useful when preparing a speech or a presentation. The number of minutes you will take is dependent on the number of words and your speed of speech, or reading speed.

Note: This calculator provides an indication only.

Enter details below

The overview below provides an indication of the minutes for a speech (based on an average reading speed of 130 words per minute):

• Words in a 1 minute speech 130 words
• Words in a 2 minute speech 260 words
• Words in a 3 minute speech 390 words
• Words in a 4 minute speech 520 words
• Words in a 5 minute speech 650 words
• Words in a 10 minute speech 1300 words
• Words in a 15 minute speech 1950 words
• Words in a 20 minute speech 2600 words
• How long does a 500 word speech take? 3.8 minutes
• How long does a 1000 word speech take? 7.7 minutes
• How long does a 1250 word speech take? 9.6 minutes
• How long does a 1500 word speech take? 11.5 minutes
• How long does a 1750 word speech take? 13.5 minutes
• How long does a 2000 word speech take? 15.4 minutes
• How long does a 2500 word speech take? 19.2 minutes
• How long does a 5000 word speech take? 38.5 minutes

Words To Time Converter

Estimate how many minutes your speeches, presentations, and voice-over scripts will take based on your words per minute rate!

Words per Minute: 183

How To Convert Words to Minutes Using This Tool?

If you have a certain number of words or a piece of text you want to time, you can either type in the word count or paste the text into the provided area. This tool will then calculate how long it would take to read that text out loud.

The talk time estimate is calculated using the average speaking speed of adults, which is determined to be 183 words per minute based on scientific studies. If you’re interested in how long it would take to read silently, it’s estimated at 238 words per minute ( This data is also backed by research )

You can adjust the slider to change the words per minute value, which will affect the talk time estimate. However, the silent reading time estimate remains fixed at 238 words per minute. 

For ease of use, we’ve also provided reference points for slow, average, and fast reading rates below the slider.

To begin anew, simply click the ‘clear text’ button to erase the content and restore the slider back to its original setting of 183.

I. Who is This Words to Minutes Converter Tool For?

If you are a student wondering how long is my essay or you’ve been tasked with writing a speech and need to know how many words to aim for and how many minutes will it take to deliver or perhaps you are a podcaster, just starting out, who wants the ability to easily synchronize music and spoken word without having to painstakingly calculate seconds between them, then this words to time converter (or speech time calculator-you may call it if you are a public speaker) is precisely for you! 

From now on, instead of spending long hours in front of the computer trying to figure out how many seconds it takes for one phrase or section of dialogue to end and another to begin, you can let our innovative tool do all the work and convert your text to time quickly and accurately. With this powerful tool at your disposal, whether you’re giving a TED talk or just need to nail a business presentation, your life will become a little bit easier.

So keep reading to learn more about what this fantastic words to minutes converter has in store for public speakers, aspiring students, and professional radio producers alike!

Whether you want to read the text silently or speak aloud, you can use this tool as both:

• Reading time calculator
• Talk time calculator

II.I Explanation of the Reading Time

Reading time refers to the duration it takes for an average person to read a written text silently while still comprehending its content. Based on an extensive analysis of 190 studies that involved 18,573 participants , research conducted by Marc Brysbaert in 2019 suggests that the typical silent reading speed for an adult individual is approximately 238 words per minute .

To convert word count to read time for a specific text, you can do so by dividing the total word count of the text by this established value of 238. Here is the mathematical equation for determining the duration of reading time in minutes:

Reading Time = Total Word Count / 238

II.II Explanation of the Speech Time

Speech time refers to the duration it takes for an average person to read a text out loud. Based on data from 77 studies involving 5,965 people , it’s been found that most adults read aloud at a speed of approximately 183 words per minute ( research conducted by Marc Brysbaert in 2019 ). To figure out how long it will take to read a specific piece of text aloud, you can divide the total number of words in the text by this average rate of 183 words per minute.

Of course, it’s important to note that talk time can vary depending on factors such as clarity of speech, pauses for emphasis, and use of visual aids. However, using this tool for converting the number of words to minutes can still provide a helpful guideline for planning and practicing your presentation. By having a better understanding of speech rates, you can ensure that your message is delivered effectively and efficiently.

III. Benefits of Using a Words to Time Converter

Time management in presentations.

Effective time management during presentations is crucial to ensure the audience remains engaged and the information is accurately conveyed. This is where our speaking time converter comes in handy. By using this tool, presenters can easily determine how many words they need to include in their presentation to stay within the allotted time frame.

Not only does it help with time management, but it also ensures that the pacing of the presentation is consistent, making it easier for the audience to follow. With the use of this tool, presenters can confidently deliver their presentations without the worry of running over time or rushing through it.

Estimated speech time for public speaking

Public speaking can be nerve-wracking, especially when you have too little or too much information to fill your time slot. You wonder only if there were an accurate public speaking time calculator available so that you could be able to allocate the appropriate amount of time to each section of your presentation, ensuring that you cover all the necessary points without rushing or going over time. 

Effective pacing is key in ensuring your message is delivered with clarity and impact.

Most public speakers target an average of 130-150 words per minute for their spoken content, meaning you should aim to limit your speaking time to roughly one minute per 130-150 words. While this may take some practice to achieve, the end result is a confident, well-timed delivery that keeps your audience engaged from start to finish.

Remember, in public speaking, less is often more—take your time to breathe and emphasize key points. Your audience will appreciate your thoughtful and measured approach. For that, you can use this tool and adjust your words to speech time.

Accurate estimations for audiobooks and podcasts

As more and more people turn to audiobooks and podcasts for their entertainment and information needs, accurate estimations of listening time have become more important than ever. After all, there’s nothing worse than settling in for a quick listen only to find yourself trapped in a story that goes on for hours longer than you anticipated.

That’s why it’s great to see publishers and podcast producers taking estimated reading time seriously, providing listeners with the information they need to choose the right content for their schedule. Whether you’re looking for a quick listen on your daily commute or a lengthy distraction for a lazy Sunday afternoon, accurate estimations using this speaking time calculator make it easier than ever to find the perfect content.

IV. Some Popular Speech Times

V. conclusion.

As the world becomes more fast-paced, time is a precious commodity. Determining how long your script will take to read, whether for a presentation or a video, can make a significant difference in engaging and retaining your audience’s attention.

That’s where our Words to Time Converter comes in handy. It’s a valuable tool for anyone working in various professions, from broadcast journalists to teachers to executives. No matter the industry, time is of the essence, and knowing how long your speech or presentation will take is crucial for effective communication.

How Fast Should I Speak When Giving A Public Speech?

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Truthfully, most people talk too quickly when they give a public speech and they lose their audience because of the speed at which they’re talking. Speed shows nervousness and a lack of control, so we really want to get that under raps.

So, How Fast Should You Speak?

Slower than you think.

The first little piece of advice that I want to give you is that it is slower than you think, you should check The Colin James Method to find out.

A lot of people think that they need to talk really quickly and get the words out there. They need to get their message out really, really quickly and talk to other people and say everything that they need to say.

However, sometimes talking slower can actually deliver your message in a better way and allows you to emphasize words and allows you to make your speech more interesting to the audience.

The first piece of advice is that you probably need to speak slower than you actually think.

I know when I first started recording podcasts, I spoke extremely quickly and that the more that I have progressed throughout my podcast and I’m still learning, but the slower that I speak.

And It’s Very Difficult To Talk Too Slowly

Next tip is that it is very difficult to talk too slowly, okay? You don’t want to be too slow but it’s very hard to talk too slowly.

Our natural tendency is to talk extremely quickly, so know that, yes, you need to speak slower than you think, but you probably don’t need to worry about how slow you’re speaking because it’s very difficult to talk slowly. It feels awkward when you’re talking too slow.

Important: You Want Your Audience To Understand Your Message Not Hear Your Words

Next bit of advice is that you want the audience to understand your message, not to hear your words. It’s not about getting the most words packed into a speech. It’s about the audience hearing, understanding your message, and walking away with those concepts now firmly planted in their minds.

Understand that if you can’t cut out words and talk slower, as long as you’re still getting the message across, that is what’s important in your public speech.

How Many Words Per Minute Should You Speak?

Next thing to do will be to calculate your words per minute. It might be an idea to sit down and do a recording and then go through that recording and count how many words you said in one minute.

Six Minutes , which is a blog about public speaking, they did an analysis of nine Ted talks and found out the average word count was around 163 words per minute , with the lowest being around 133 and the highest around 199 or something like that. There was a range of different speakers talking on different subjects, and that 163 came out as the average.

How Fast Do I Speak Per Minute?

How fast do I speak per minute? Truthfully, I have no idea.

Some minutes, I speak faster. Some minutes, I speak slower.

Find out how you speak per minute, and if it sounds too fast, then look at trying to cut that back.

Tip: Video Yourself and Watch It Back

Next tip would be to video yourself and to watch yourself back, or to do a trial run with friends and family. If you’re videoing yourself, then you can get feedback by watching yourself.

You can feel, is it awkward? Am I talking too fast? At this point, did I talk too fast and lose the audience or did I talk too slowly?

By watching yourself on camera, you can get a much better idea of the speed at which you’re speaking, and because you’re not in the speech, you’re actually standing back watching it yourself, it allows you to adjust.

Doing a trial run with friends and family, you can ask them specifically, “How fast did I speak? Did I speak too fast and do I need to slow down? Was it a good rate and did you understand my message? Do you think I felt comfortable?” You can ask them for feedback before you actually do the presentation in front of the audience that you’ll be presenting to.

Ask Yourself: How Slowly Can I Speak and Still Engage The Audience?

Then lastly, you need to ask yourself, “How slowly can I speak and still engage the audience?”

What we want to do is form a baseline of how slowly we can speak and still keep the audience engaged, and then we can ramp up our speaking speed from there.

You can start by talking too slow and being awkward on purpose and you say, “Okay, this is too slow. I need to talk a bit faster.” Then talk a bit faster, how does that feel? “Okay, this is slow but it’s still good and still engaging because I’m using inflections to differentiate my voice.”

Then you can use that as a baseline and say, “Okay, this is the slowest I can speak. I want to make sure I don’t go slower than this,” and then you can work out from there.

This has been a few ideas about how fast you should speak when you give a public speech. I hope that has given you a few things to think about, and we’ll give you more confidence when you get out there on the stage and deliver your speech in the right tempo at the right speed.

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Election latest: Farage's Tory rival 'sorry to hear' about milkshake attack

Nigel Farage has had a milkshake thrown over him in Clacton, the town where he's launched his latest campaign to become an MP. The Reform leader's Tory rival in the constituency has said he's "sorry to hear" about the incident.

Tuesday 4 June 2024 16:05, UK

• General Election 2024

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Election news

• Farage has milkshake thrown over him in Clacton
• Two arrests made | Tory candidate 'sorry to hear' about incident
• Abbott makes Labour's final list of election candidates
• First general election debate taking place this evening
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• Live reporting by Faith Ridler

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• Ed Conway: Why caps on migrant numbers don't really work
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• Trackers: Who's leading polls? | Is PM keeping promises?
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The home secretary and his Labour shadow have condemned the incident that saw a drink thrown over Reform UK leader and candidate Nigel Farage.

James Cleverly said the "assault" was "unacceptable", adding: "There is no excuse to resort to behaviour like this. We may disagree, but we debate, and then we vote. That’s democracy."

Labour's Yvette Cooper added: "Disgraceful assault on Nigel Farage today.

"Completely unacceptable and wrong. No one should face intimidation or assault in an election campaign.

"Thank you to the police for responding."

Two people have been arrested after Nigel Farage had a milkshake thrown over him as he left the Moon and Starfish pub in Clacton today.

Essex Police said in a statement that they were called to the area at around 2.10pm after "it was reported a man had a drink thrown over him as he left a premises in the area".

They force said: "A 25-year-old woman, from Clacton, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault.

"While officers were responding and making this arrest, a second individual, a man, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

"Both individuals remain in custody for questioning."

By Matthew Thompson, correspondent

As far as Lib Dem stunts go, today's wasn't the most ambitious.

We were treated to a giant game of jenga in leafy Greater Manchester. 

Each wooden piece painted blue, to give yet another slightly imperfect metaphor for the Tory "blue wall" that Sir Ed Davey is so keen to see collapse.

I've written before about how Lib Dem strategists see stunts as integral to the campaign, carving out precious air time for them in a media cycle geared mostly around Labour and the Conservatives.

But quite how integral was only pointed out to me as I examined the designs on the Lib Dem battle bus.

Little icons reflecting a variety of policy areas are printed on the side: a hospital, a pound note, scales representing justice. So far, so obvious.

But why on Earth is there a dinosaur? What policy could possibly be referenced by a clown face?

I was baffled, until one aide pointed out that a handful of the icons referred directly to stunts the party had recently performed.

So there you have it. Stunts are so key to this campaign for the Lib Dems that they literally put it on the side of a bus.

The Conservative candidate in Clacton, where Nigel Farage is standing to become an MP, has condemned the fact that his opponent had a milkshake thrown on him.

Giles Watling wrote on X that he is "sorry to hear" about the incident.

"We may disagree, but every candidate has the right to campaign without fear of violence or intimidation!" he added.

The other candidates for Clacton are:

• Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, Labour;
• Natasha Osben, Greens;
• Matthew Bensilum, Lib Dems.

We've just had some reaction from the now chairman of Reform UK to someone throwing a milkshake over Nigel Farage.

In a post on X, Richard Tice wrote: "The juvenile moron who threw a drink over Nigel has just gained us hundreds of thousands more votes.

"We will not be bullied or threatened off the campaign trail."

As you can see in our previous post, Nigel Farage had a milkshake thrown over him today.

This isn't the first time it has happened.

Back in 2019, when he was the leader of the Brexit Party - and campaigning for the European Elections - a man threw a £5.25 banana and salted caramel milkshake from burger chain Five Guys over him.

That ended up being a very costly move for the man in question, who was arrested at the scene - and ended up paying £350 in compensation to Mr Farage.

You can read more on that attack  here .

And five years prior, the then UKIP leader was egged by a protester on a campaign visit to Nottingham.

That was also ahead of European elections.

New Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had a drink thrown over him as he left the Moon and Starfish pub in Clacton today.

He had been speaking to reporters in the pub after his busy rally at Clacton Pier, in which he launched his campaign with crowds of supporters - and others protesting his candidacy.

He was seen with the drink - which looks to be a milkshake - splattered over his suit as he boarded his campaign bus.

It's not the first time this has happened to Mr Farage - he had a milkshake thrown over him ahead of the European elections in Newcastle in 2019.

The man responsible for dousing him in the banana and salted caramel beverage on that occasion, Paul Crowther, was ordered to pay the then Brexit Party leader £350 compensation.

Read more here .

By Alexandra Rogers , political reporter

The Labour Party is expected to drop two of its general election candidates in Gosport and Barking following a crunch meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) today.

An email from the office of the general secretary, seen by Sky News, says the party is "not recommending candidates for endorsement" in Gosport or Barking as there are "outstanding NEC processes yet to conclude".

Labour had selected Edward Batterbury for Gosport and Darren Rodwell, the leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, for the parliamentary seat of Barking.

It comes after Mr Rodwell issued a statement on X on Monday, in which he said allegations about his behaviour had been made to Labour's complaints unit.

"I utterly refute what is being said," he wrote.

You can read more from Sky News here:

Faiza Shaheen, the former Labour candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green, has confirmed that she has resigned from the party today.

She said the decision came with a "heavy heart", adding: "I will not beg and grovel to earn my place - I want to be treated as an equal and with the respect afforded to others".

It comes after she was blocked from being the party's candidate in the constituency that's been held by prominent Tory Iain Duncan Smith.

The decision was made over social media activity regarding Israel, but led to accusations that Sir Keir Starmer was engaging in a purge of Labour's left-wing.

You can read her statement in full here:

Rishi Sunak has just been spotted arriving at Manchester Piccadilly station ahead of a televised debate with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tonight.

It's the first time we've seen Mr Sunak today, as he has likely been busy preparing for this evening's debate.

This pic was snapped by our chief political correspondent Jon Craig  - with the PM's customary Adidas Samba trainers fully on show.

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