Speaking rate: words a minute

Sample paces by kind of read

These are the starting points the script timer uses. They are our own suggestions for each kind of read, drawn from how those reads are usually delivered. They are not measured averages, and your own pace may sit well above or below them.

Why they differ: a keynote leaves room for the audience and for emphasis, a self-tape plays the pauses of a scene, a piece to camera is a little quicker than conversation, and a commercial read has to fit a fixed slot. A legal tag at the end of an ad is often read fastest of all.

Words for each running time

For one length in detail: 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes.

The two formulas

• Running time = words ÷ pace. A 420-word script at 140 words a minute runs 3 minutes.
• Word budget = pace × minutes. A 30-second spot at 165 words a minute holds about 82 words.

Round the budget down. A script that fits exactly leaves no room for a breath, a pause for a laugh or a name that takes longer to say than it looks.

Measure your own pace

A sample pace is a guess; yours is a fact. The reading pace test takes a minute: read a passage aloud, press stop, and it gives your words a minute and hands it to the timer. It uses no microphone, so nothing is listened to or sent.

Do it twice: once reading as you would on the day, and once a little slower. Most people find their careful pace is the one that reads well on camera.

What changes your pace

• The words. Long words, numbers, names and technical terms take longer than their word count suggests.
• Punctuation. Every full stop is a small pause; every paragraph break a longer one.
• The audience. A room, a lens and a call each pull a different pace out of the same person.
• Nerves. Most people speed up under pressure. Rehearse at the pace you want, then hold it.
• The language. Words are different lengths in different languages, and some languages are counted in characters. Cutvey Teleprompter's library estimates a script's reading time at 150 words a minute, or 300 characters a minute for Japanese and Chinese.

Pauses are part of the time

A word count says nothing about silence, and silence is where a read breathes. A worked example, as a sample: a two-minute piece in eight paragraphs, with a one-second pause at each paragraph break and a three-second pause before the last line, spends about ten seconds saying nothing. At 140 words a minute that is about 23 words you no longer have room for.

So when a script has to land on the second:

• Count the pauses you want. Add a second for each paragraph break and a beat for each laugh, slide change or cut to picture.
• Write the budget after the pauses. Words = pace × (minutes less the pause time).
• Rehearse with the clock. In Cutvey Teleprompter timed mode fits the rest of the script into the time you give it, and DRIFT shows whether you are early or late.

Rehearsed or cold

The same person reads at different paces on different days. A cold read of a new script is usually slower and less even, because you are finding the sense as you go. By the third read you are faster and steadier, and by the tenth you may be racing. Measure your pace on the version of the read you will actually give: rehearsed, on your feet and at camera volume.

The same is true of the room. People tend to speed up when they are nervous and slow down when an audience reacts, so a keynote rehearsed alone often runs short on the day. Leave slack in the script for the room to take.

From words a minute to a scroll speed

Cutvey Teleprompter sets speed in lines a second, from 0.1 to 8, starting at 1.2. A line holds however many words fit at your text size and margins, so the same pace is a different speed on an iPhone and on a rig.

The arithmetic is pace ÷ 60 ÷ words a line. You rarely need it: voice follow trims the speed to your read once you press play, and timed mode fits the rest of the script into the time you give it.

Pace on a prompter

• Start slower than you think. It is easier to speed up a scroll than to catch one.
• Give sections their own pace. In Cutvey Teleprompter a cue can carry its own speed, so the legal line can be slower than the list.
• Watch the clocks. EST. LEFT tells you how long remains at the current speed; in timed mode, DRIFT says whether you are early or late, and ON TIME within five seconds.

More guides

• How to read a teleprompter naturally
• Voice follow: how a teleprompter can follow your voice
• Teleprompter rig setup
• All guides

Questions people ask

How many words a minute should I speak?

There is no single right number. Our sample paces run from 120 words a minute for a keynote to 165 for a commercial read. Measure your own with the reading pace test and set the timer to it.

How do I slow down when I read?

Set the prompter a touch slower than feels natural, put a paragraph break wherever you want a pause, and rehearse at that pace. On a solo read, voice follow trims the scroll to you, so the text never pulls you along.

Do numbers and names count as one word?

They count as one word, but they take longer to say. "2,487" is one word on the page and five or six when spoken, so give a script full of figures more time, or write the numbers the way you say them.

Is 150 words a minute too fast for a video?

Not for a voiceover or a brisk explainer. For a piece to camera or a talk, most people read better a little slower. Try the reading pace test at your camera pace, then set the script timer to it.

How many words is a 2-minute speech?

About 240 words at 120 words a minute, 280 at 140 and 330 at 165. See the 2-minute page for the full range by kind of read.