How Many Words Is a 3, 5 or 10 Minute Speech?

By Eduard Bruch · Published 9 October 2026 · Updated 9 October 2026

At a calm speaking pace of 130 words per minute, a 3-minute speech is about 390 words, a 5-minute speech about 650 words and a 10-minute speech about 1,300 words. A good speaking rate for most speeches is 120 to 150 words per minute; to turn words into minutes, divide the word count by your rate.

The short answer, for the three lengths people ask about

• 3-minute speech: 330 to 510 words, about 390 at 130 WPM.
• 5-minute speech: 550 to 850 words, about 650 at 130 WPM.
• 10-minute speech: 1,100 to 1,700 words, about 1,300 at 130 WPM.

The range comes from speaking speed. A slow, deliberate speaker at 110 words per minute (WPM) needs far fewer words than a quick, conversational one at 170. Most speeches land between 120 and 150 WPM once you add pauses, laughs and the moment where you look up at the room, so 130 is a safe number to plan with.

Minutes to words: the full table

Find the length you have been given on the left, then read across to the pace that sounds like you. Numbers are rounded to whole words.

Two quick rules: at 130 WPM, every minute is about 130 words, and a page of typed text (single-spaced, 12 point) holds roughly 500 words, which is close to four minutes of speaking. A double-spaced page holds about half that.

Words to minutes: how long will my speech take?

If the speech is already written, go the other way: divide the word count by your speaking rate. 650 words at 130 WPM is 5 minutes; the same text at 150 WPM is 4 minutes 20 seconds. The table below does the division for common lengths (minutes:seconds).

A teleprompter app can do this for you. In Gazecue, the script editor shows the word count and the reading time at the speed you set, so you see the length before you rehearse. The speed is the same number the prompter scrolls at, from 60 to 300 WPM.

What is a good words per minute for speaking?

There is no single right number, but there are useful ranges. Use these as starting points and then check yourself against a stopwatch:

For a live speech, a good words per minute is usually at the lower end of what feels natural, because a room needs time to react. On video, people tend to speak a little faster, often around 150. The teleprompter speed guide goes deeper into picking a speed in words per minute and adjusting it while you read.

How to measure your own speaking rate

1. Take a passage of about 200 words you have not memorized.
2. Read it aloud at the pace you would use for the real speech, standing up if you will stand.
3. Time it. Divide the word count by the minutes: 200 words in 1 minute 30 seconds is 200 / 1.5 = 133 WPM.
4. Do it twice more and take the average. Your first read is usually faster than your real delivery.
5. Plan the speech with that number, then subtract 10 to leave room for pauses and reactions.

Why your speech runs longer than the word count says

Word counts measure talking, not the whole speech. Laughter, applause, a pause before the punchline and a sip of water all add time. A useful habit is to write for about 90% of the slot: for a 5-minute toast at 130 WPM, aim for 580 to 600 words rather than 650. If you are told to keep it under a limit, plan to finish a little early; nobody minds a speech that ends on time.

Names, numbers and lists slow you down too. A sentence with three names in it takes longer than the same number of plain words, because you slow down to say them clearly. If your speech is full of thank-yous, count it as slower.

Cutting a speech to length

• Cut whole points, not words. Removing one of four stories saves more time, and sounds better, than trimming adjectives everywhere.
• Shorten the opening. Most first drafts warm up for a paragraph before they start. Begin with the second paragraph and see if anything is missing.
• Turn lists into one example. One specific story is shorter and more memorable than five general points.
• Read it aloud after every cut. Written text and spoken text have different lengths; only the stopwatch is right.

Delivering it on time

Once the length is right, the next problem is keeping it there on the day. Nerves speed most people up. If you read from paper, mark a halfway point with the time you should reach it. If you read from a phone or tablet, a teleprompter sets the pace for you: the text scrolls at a fixed speed in words per minute, and you can tap plus or minus while it scrolls to slow down or catch up. Gazecue has a prompt-only mode that turns the camera off and shows only the scrolling script, which suits a lectern or a stand.

If you plan to learn the speech instead, see how to memorize a speech. For toasts, the wedding speech guide covers length and delivery from a phone. Settings for talks and lecterns are on the speeches page, and Gazecue is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

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Read next: Gazecue for speeches and talks · Gazecue at a glance · All articles