Test your speaking speed
Press the mic and talk. See your words, your time and your pace as you speak.
Press the mic and start talking.
Not sure what to say? Explain what you do, or tell us about your last holiday.
What's a normal speaking speed?
Measured talks and broadcasts mostly run at 145 to 170 words a minute: university lectures at about 145,2 BBC World Service news at about 1685 and TED talks at about 169.2 Speeches for interpreters are kept slower: the United Nations in Geneva asks for no more than 120.1 Conversation runs faster, at about 210 in British English.3
Writing a speech to fit a time slot? Use the words to minutes calculator to see how many words you need at your pace.
What people ask
How do I work out my speaking speed?
Count the words you said and divide by the minutes it took. This test does both for you. Talk for at least a minute for a steady number, and talk the way you would in the room.
Is 150 words a minute good?
Yes. It sits between a university lecture (about 145) and a professional audiobook (about 155). Most of the talks measured on this page run between 145 and 170 words a minute.
Is 200 words a minute fast?
For a talk, yes. It's faster than most adults read aloud (183), well above TED talks (about 169) and close to a relaxed phone call (about 196).
How fast does the average person talk?
In conversation, fast: about 210 words a minute in British English, and about 196 on unscripted phone calls. Prepared talks are slower and vary: lectures run at about 145 and TED talks at about 169.
Why do I talk so fast?
Conversation is naturally quick, at about 210 words a minute in British English, and many people carry that pace into a talk. Test yourself here, then try the Slower and Natural paces in the words to minutes calculator.
Sources
Sources checked 29 September 2026.
- United Nations Office at Geneva. Interpretation: statements "must be delivered at a speed not exceeding 120 words per minute". www.ungeneva.org/en/meetings-events/official-meetings/organizers/member-states/coordination/interpretation
- Wingrove, P. (2017). How suitable are TED talks for academic listening? Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 30, 79 to 95. doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.10.010
- Tauroza, S. and Allison, D. (1990). Speech rates in British English. Applied Linguistics, 11(1), 90 to 105. doi.org/10.1093/applin/11.1.90
- ACX. How long will my narrated audiobook be? (about 9,300 words per finished hour). help.acx.com/s/article/how-long-will-my-narrated-audiobook-be
- Rodero, E. (2012). A comparative analysis of speech rate and perception in radio bulletins. Text & Talk, 32(3), 391 to 411. doi.org/10.1515/text-2012-0019
- 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. doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2019.104047
- Yuan, J., Liberman, M. and Cieri, C. (2006). Towards an integrated understanding of speaking rate in conversation. Interspeech 2006. www.isca-archive.org/interspeech_2006/yuan06_interspeech.html