How Many Words Is a 1 Minute Speech?
1 min read
Short answer
Words in 1 minute, by pace
| Pace | Words a minute | Words in 1 minute |
|---|---|---|
| Slow | 130 | 130 |
| Natural | 150 | 150 |
| Fast | 170 | 170 |
At the natural pace the script is 150 words: about0.3 pages single spaced or0.6 pages double spaced in 12pt Times New Roman.
Check your own numbers
150
Words needed at 150 wpm
About 0.6 double-spaced pages.
150 words per minute · average is 150
Common durations
150 wpm1 minute is roughly 3 words.
Sixty seconds is less than you think
150 words is about the length of this section and the next one together. It is enough for one point, one example and one ask. Anything more and you start talking faster to fit it in, which is the one thing a short speech cannot afford.
Write 130 words, not 150. A one-minute slot includes the breath before you start, a pause after your best line and the moment it takes to say thank you.
Where 1 minute comes up
- Elevator pitches at networking events, careers fairs and in interviews (“Tell me about yourself”).
- Introductions at the start of a course, a meeting or a workshop.
- Short videos for social media, recorded applications and video CVs, which often cap at 60 seconds.
- Speech exercises in class, where one minute without notes is a standard first task.
A 150-word structure
| Part | Words | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Who you are, or the hook | 25 | 10 seconds |
| The one thing you want them to know | 50 | 20 seconds |
| A specific example or result | 50 | 20 seconds |
| The ask or closing line | 25 | 10 seconds |
The example is the part people remember. “I cut our support team’s response time from two days to four hours” lands in a way “I am passionate about customer service” never does.
Rehearsing a one-minute speech
Time yourself out loud, at the pace you would really use, three times. If you are consistently over, cut a whole sentence rather than speaking faster. If you can say it without looking at notes by the third run, it is short enough. Paste the script into the speaking time calculator to check it against your own measured pace.