How Many Words Is a 5-Minute Speech? Word Counts for 1–20 Minutes
A 5-minute speech is about 650–750 words: 650 at a slow 130 words a minute, 750 at 150. Word counts for 1 to 20 minutes, plus timing tips for real occasions.
A 5-minute speech is about 650 to 750 words. At 130 words a minute, the speaking rate the free reading time calculator uses, five minutes is 650 words; at 150 words a minute, a typical rate for speech, it is 750. If you speak slowly, pause for effect or are speaking in your second language, write about 600–650 words and time a practice run.
Count your draft with the word counter, then check it against the chart below, which covers speeches from 1 to 20 minutes. This guide also shows how to measure your own speaking rate, what eats into your time on the day, and how long common occasions such as a school assembly, a wedding toast or an interview self-introduction usually run.
How fast do people speak?
A 2019 review by the psychologist Marc Brysbaert pulled together 190 reading studies covering 18,573 participants. It found:
- Reading aloud averages about 183 words a minute.
- Audiobooks are narrated at about 140–180 words a minute, and about 150 words a minute is a typical rate for speech.
- Silent reading is faster: about 238 words a minute for non-fiction and 260 for fiction.
A live speech is usually slower than reading a text aloud. You pause between points, wait for laughter or applause, stress key words and look up at the audience. That is why 130 words a minute, the calculator's speaking rate, is a sensible planning figure: it builds in room for pauses. A practised speaker reading a script at a steady pace can be closer to 150–180.
Words for a 1- to 20-minute speech
| Minutes | At 130 wpm (calculator) | At 150 wpm (typical) | At 180 wpm (brisk) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 130 | 150 | 180 |
| 2 | 260 | 300 | 360 |
| 3 | 390 | 450 | 540 |
| 4 | 520 | 600 | 720 |
| 5 | 650 | 750 | 900 |
| 6 | 780 | 900 | 1,080 |
| 7 | 910 | 1,050 | 1,260 |
| 8 | 1,040 | 1,200 | 1,440 |
| 10 | 1,300 | 1,500 | 1,800 |
| 12 | 1,560 | 1,800 | 2,160 |
| 15 | 1,950 | 2,250 | 2,700 |
| 20 | 2,600 | 3,000 | 3,600 |
For a 5-minute speech, then: about 650 words at a slow, clear pace, 750 at a typical pace, and 900 only if you speak briskly with few pauses. If you don't know your pace yet, write to the 130 column. It is easier to slow down a short speech than to rush a long one.
Check your draft with the calculator
The reading time calculator asks for a word count and a reading speed (200 words a minute unless you change it). It shows two lines:
- Reading time, in minutes and seconds, at the speed in the box.
- Speaking time (~130 wpm), rounded to the nearest whole minute.
The rounding hides quite a lot: 600, 650 and 700 words all show "5 min", and 750 words shows "6 min". The speaking line also ignores the speed box. For a precise figure at your own pace, type your speaking rate into the reading speed box and read the Reading time line instead. A 700-word speech at 140 words a minute shows "5 min 0 sec"; 650 words at 150 words a minute shows "4 min 20 sec".
Find your own speaking rate
- Start the online stopwatch and read your draft aloud for exactly one minute, at the pace you would use in front of an audience.
- Mark where you stopped, paste that part into the word counter and note the number of words. That is your words per minute.
- Multiply by your time limit. If you read 140 words in a minute, a 5-minute speech is 700 words.
Do this twice, on different sections, because a story usually goes faster than a list of facts. Then rehearse the whole speech with the stopwatch, pressing Lap at the end of each section, so you can see which part runs long.
What eats into your time
- Pauses and audience reactions. A wedding toast that gets laughs, or an assembly speech that gets applause, runs longer than a rehearsal in an empty room. Leave about 10% of your time free: for a 5-minute slot, plan 4½ minutes of speech, which is about 585 words at 130 a minute.
- Nerves. Many speakers speed up in front of an audience. Mark two or three pauses in your script ("pause, look up") so you have places to slow down.
- Slides and props. Changing a slide, pointing at a chart or playing a video takes time that your word count doesn't show. Subtract the length of any clip from your time, and allow a few seconds for each slide change.
- Questions. If the time limit includes questions, the speech itself must be shorter. Ask the organiser.
Speaking in Hindi, English or both
Word counts don't carry over neatly between languages. Hindi writes many grammar words separately (में, के, है, रहा), so the same message can take more words in Hindi than in English, and the words are often shorter. An English word target is therefore only a rough guide for a Hindi speech. Write the speech in the language you will deliver it in, and time it aloud.
The word counter counts Hindi words by the spaces between them: "नमस्ते, आज मैं आप सबके सामने अपने विद्यालय के बारे में बोलूँगा।" counts as 12 words. It doesn't treat the danda (।) as the end of a sentence, so ignore its sentence count for Hindi text. If you mix Hindi and English, or are speaking in your second language, go a little slower than usual: being understood matters more than fitting in one more point.
Common occasions and how long they usually run
These are typical lengths, not rules. Your teacher, the organiser or the interviewer sets the real limit, so ask if you are unsure.
| Occasion | Typical length | Words at 130–150 wpm |
|---|---|---|
| Thought for the day (school assembly) | 1 minute | 130–150 |
| Assembly speech for Independence Day or Teachers' Day | 2–3 minutes | 260–450 |
| Interview self-introduction ("Tell me about yourself") | 1–2 minutes | 130–300 |
| Wedding toast or farewell speech | 3–5 minutes | 390–750 |
| Class presentation | 5–10 minutes | 650–1,500 |
A 1-minute self-introduction of about 130 words could be budgeted like this: who you are and where you studied (35 words), your most relevant project or job (45 words), one strength with an example (30 words) and why you want this role (20 words). A 5-minute speech of about 650 words works well as an opening of about 80 words, three main points of about 160 words each, and a 90-word close that links back to the opening.
Cutting or stretching to fit
If a rehearsal runs over, cut a whole point or example rather than speaking faster. If it runs short, add a specific story or example, not more adjectives. Every 130 words you add or remove changes the speech by about a minute at a slow pace.
Frequently asked questions
How many words is a 3-minute speech?
About 390 words at 130 words a minute, or 450 at 150.
How many words is a 10-minute speech?
About 1,300 to 1,500 words. For a 10-minute presentation with slides, aim towards the lower end.
How long is a 1,000-word speech?
About 7 minutes 40 seconds at 130 words a minute (the calculator's speaking line rounds this to 8 minutes) and 6 minutes 40 seconds at 150.
How many pages is a 5-minute speech?
650–750 words is 1.3–1.5 pages single-spaced by the words to pages converter's rule, or about one page in 12-point Times New Roman. For a script you will read from, double spacing makes it easier to keep your place; that is about 2–3 pages. The guide to how many pages 1,000 words fills has charts by font.
Is 130 words a minute too slow?
No. It is slower than reading aloud, which averages about 183 words a minute, but it leaves room for the pauses an audience needs. If your practice runs show you speak at 150, plan with that.
Sources: Brysbaert, M. (2019), "How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate", Journal of Memory and Language 109, 104047.
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