How the calculator works
Speaking time is the number of words divided by your pace in words per minute. A 650 word speech at 130 words per minute takes about five minutes. The word budget works the other way: multiply the minutes you have by your pace. Three minutes at 130 words per minute gives you roughly 390 words to work with.
The three paces are starting points. 110 wpm suits a careful talk with pauses, a formal ceremony or a speech in a second language. 130 wpm is a comfortable pace for most school and work presentations. 160 wpm is brisk and conversational, and is often what nerves do to a speech that was rehearsed at 130.
Check the estimate against a real run-through
Words per minute ignores pauses, slides, demonstrations and audience questions. Read the speech aloud once with a timer, then compare your time with the estimate. If you are consistently faster or slower, choose the pace that matches you and plan the next draft from that number.
If you are over time, cut whole examples rather than speeding up. Our guide to writing cue cards shows how to keep the key words and drop the rest, and the palm card calculator tells you how many cards the final version needs.