Work out how long a speech, script or presentation will take to deliver, and how many words fit in a given time slot.
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| 1,500 words at 150 wpm | 10 min 0 s |
| 1,000 words at 150 wpm | 6 min 40 s |
| 2,000 words at 130 wpm | 15 min 23 s |
| 1,800 words at 150 wpm | 12 min 0 s |
| Delivery | Words per minute |
|---|---|
| Prepared presentation, comfortable pace | 130-150 |
| Conversational speech | 130-150 |
| Rehearsed, brisk delivery | 160-170 |
| Reading a text aloud | 183 |
| Audiobook narration | 150-160 |
The 183 wpm figure for reading aloud comes from the same 2019 meta-analysis as the reading speeds (Brysbaert, Journal of Memory and Language 109:104047) and is a measured average, not a convention. The 130–150 wpm band for presentations is a coaching convention, because live delivery adds pauses, emphasis and audience response that reading aloud does not.
Articulation, not comprehension, is the bottleneck in speech. A 10-minute slot at 150 wpm holds 1,500 words; the same slot read at 183 wpm would hold 1,830 — a 22% difference. That is why the same script can run 8 minutes for one speaker and 11 for another.
Two practical rules. First, rehearse out loud with a timer rather than counting words — the number you get will usually be 10–20% longer than the arithmetic suggests. Second, cut words rather than speed up: audiences rate slower delivery as more confident, and rushing is the fastest way to lose a room.
| Activity | Words per minute | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Adult silent reading, non-fiction | 238 | Brysbaert (2019), 190 studies |
| Adult silent reading, fiction | ~260 | Brysbaert (2019) |
| Reading aloud | 183 | Brysbaert (2019), 77 studies |
| Careful / study reading of technical text | ~180 | Brysbaert (2019), difficulty effect |
| Prepared speech with pauses | 130-150 | Public-speaking convention |
| Audiobook narration | 150-160 | ACX narrator guidelines (~155 wpm) |
| Fast reader | ~350 | Upper end of the normal distribution |
| Skimming / scanning | 450+ | Not reading for comprehension |
Speeds above about 400 wpm in normal adults mean scanning, not reading. The 2019 meta-analysis found no evidence for distinct "reading gears" — the only real distinction is between reading (comprehending most of the text) and scanning for a specific piece of information.
About 1,500 words at a comfortable 150 words per minute, or 1,300 words if you deliver slowly at 130 wpm. Add 10–20% for pauses if the format allows questions or laughs.
Between 130 and 150 words per minute. Faster than 170 wpm is hard for an audience to follow in a live room; slower than 120 feels laboured unless it is deliberate.
Read it aloud with a timer — do not estimate from the word count alone. Live delivery typically runs 10–20% longer than the arithmetic, because of pauses, emphasis and reaction.
About 150–160 wpm. ACX, the main audiobook production platform, targets roughly 9,300 finished words per hour, which is about 155 wpm.
For a live presentation, yes — 200 wpm is well above the 130–150 band and closer to reading speed than speaking speed. It is fine for a recorded voiceover where the listener can rewind.