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Speaking speed test
How many words per minute do you speak? Read a short passage or talk for a minute, and see your pace, your filler words and how to improve.
Speaking speed test
Read this out loud at the pace you'd use in a presentation. The clock starts at your first word and stops at the last.
Most of us never hear how fast we really speak. In a normal conversation, the other person nods, asks a question, and the pace takes care of itself. On a video call or a stage, that feedback is gone. Nerves push us to talk faster, and we rush past the parts that matter most. A good speaking pace is one your listeners can follow without effort. It leaves room for short pauses after important points, so each idea has a moment to land. It also sounds calm, which makes you seem more confident than you may feel. The simplest way to find your pace is to measure it. Read this passage out loud the way you would present to a group. Don't race and don't perform. Just speak clearly, breathe at the full stops, and let the words come at their natural speed. Your result appears at the very end.
Talk about the topic below for up to a minute, as if to a colleague. Don't read; just speak.
Describe what you did yesterday, from morning to evening.
Average speaking speed
When presenting, most people speak at about 120–160 words per minute; everyday conversation is faster. A comfortable average for presenting is 140 words per minute. Typical ranges (they vary a lot by person and situation):
| Situation | Typical pace |
|---|---|
| Slow, deliberate speech (eulogies, large rooms) | 100–120 wpm |
| Presentations, lectures, video calls | 120–150 wpm |
| Everyday conversation | 150–200 wpm |
| Audiobook narration | about 150–160 wpm |
| Fast, energetic talkers and sales pitches | 170+ wpm |
Use your result with the speech time calculator to see how long your own speech will take at your pace.
How to calculate words per minute
Words per minute = number of words ÷ minutes spoken. Read a passage of known length out loud, time it, and divide. For example, 150 words in 1 minute and 15 seconds (1.25 minutes) is 120 wpm. For conversation, record a minute of natural speech, count the words in the transcript, and divide by the speaking time.
Filler words list
The most common filler words in English, and what they usually sound like to a listener:
| Filler | What it does |
|---|---|
| um, uh, er | Sounds that fill silence while you think. |
| like | "It was, like, really hard." Fine as a verb ("I like it"), a filler when it just adds a beat. |
| you know | Asks for agreement the listener never gives. |
| I mean | Often comes before repeating what you just said. |
| so | At the start of every answer: "So, I think…" |
| basically, actually, literally | Emphasis words that rarely add meaning. |
| kind of, sort of | Soften a point you actually believe. |
| right?, okay? | Tag questions at the end of sentences. |
| well, anyway, just | Small words that pad sentences. |
A few fillers are normal and can even sound friendly. It becomes a problem when listeners start noticing them, roughly when you use more than a few per minute.
How to stop saying "like" and other fillers
- Find your top one. Take the Talk freely test above and see which filler you use most. Most people have one or two favourites.
- Replace it with a pause. A filler is a pause with a sound in it. A silent half-second sounds thoughtful; "like" sounds unsure.
- Slow down slightly. Fillers appear when your mouth gets ahead of your thinking. A slower pace gives you time to choose the next word.
- Know your first and last lines. Fillers cluster at the start of answers ("so, um…") and when you don't know how to finish.
- Practise out loud, then retest. Count again after a week of practice; the number usually drops quickly once you notice it.
How to speak slower
The quick version is below; the full guide has 7 drills and how to re-test: how to speak slower.
- Breathe at every full stop. It adds a natural pause and steadies your voice.
- Write shorter sentences. Long sentences make you rush to reach the end before you run out of breath.
- Practise at a set pace. Our free teleprompter scrolls at the speed you choose; reading along at 130–140 wpm trains a calmer rhythm.
- Stress the important words. Slowing down on key words and numbers makes the whole talk feel slower and clearer.
- Plan to finish early. If your script is too long for the slot, cut it instead of speeding up.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good speaking speed?
For presentations and video calls, about 120–160 words per minute. 140 wpm is a comfortable average: fast enough to sound engaged, slow enough to follow.
How do I measure my words per minute?
Read a passage with a known word count out loud and time it, then divide the words by the minutes. A 150-word passage read in 1 minute 15 seconds is 150 ÷ 1.25 = 120 words per minute. The test above does this for you.
Is reading speed the same as speaking speed?
Not quite. Most people read aloud a little more evenly than they talk, and talk faster when nervous. Try both tests: read a passage for your presenting pace, and talk freely for your conversational pace.
Does the test record my voice?
No. It uses your browser's speech recognition to count words (in Chrome, the audio is processed by Google). We don't receive, record or store anything.
Why doesn't it count "um" and "uh"?
Browser speech recognition usually drops them from what it writes down, so the free test counts word fillers like "like", "you know" and "basically". SocialAI Prompter for Mac counts "um" and "uh" too in its practice feedback.