Ijharul Islam
The average speaking rate in English is about 150 words per minute; the National Center for Voice and Speech gives that figure for US English speakers. Professional audiobook narration runs about 155 wpm (ACX says most narrators read about 9,300 words an hour). Presentations with slides are usually slower, around 120-150 wpm, and edited voiceovers and YouTube talking heads often faster, around 150-170.
More on this topic: Video formats, codecs and numbers, every guide in one place.
Many numbers quoted online have no source behind them, so this guide separates the sourced figures from planning ranges, then shows how to measure your own rate in two minutes.
The short answer
Plan with 150 words per minute for normal speech. Use about 155 wpm for audiobook-style narration (ACX: 9,300 words per hour), 120-140 for presentations, training and audiences listening in a second language, and 150-170 for ads, voiceovers and fast YouTube delivery. Your own rate is the best number: read 300 words aloud with a timer.
Key takeaways
- Sourced: about 150 wpm average for US English (NCVS) and about 155 wpm for audiobook narration (ACX's 9,300 words per hour).
- Everything else is a working range: presentations 120-150, podcasts and YouTube 150-170, ads up to about 170.
- Comprehension drops when speech is rushed; slower is safer for instructions and non-native listeners.
- Measure yourself: words ÷ seconds × 60.
Average speaking rate by type of speech
| Type of speech | Words per minute | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Average US English speech | about 150 | National Center for Voice and Speech |
| Audiobook narration | about 155 (9,300 words per hour) | ACX Help |
| Presentation or lecture with slides | 120-150 | Planning range |
| Training, onboarding, instructions | 120-140 | Planning range |
| Podcast conversation | 150-170 | Planning range; varies a lot by host |
| YouTube talking head (edited) | 150-170 | Planning range; jump cuts remove pauses |
| Video voiceover or explainer | 140-160 | Planning range |
| Social ad, UGC-style ad | 150-170 | Planning range |
The planning ranges are what we use and recommend for scripting, not results of a study. Individual speakers vary widely: the same person can be 130 wpm in a keynote and 180 in a relaxed podcast.
What is a normal speaking rate?
About 150 words per minute. The National Center for Voice and Speech, a US research centre, notes in its voice tutorial that the average rate of speech for English speakers in the United States is about 150 words per minute. It's a convenient round number for planning, and it's the default in most script calculators, including QuickVeed's free words to minutes calculator.
How fast do audiobook narrators read?
ACX, Amazon's audiobook production marketplace, tells authors that most narrators read about 9,300 words per finished hour, and that dividing a book's word count by 9,300 estimates the audiobook's length. That's 155 words per minute. A 90,000-word novel comes to just under 10 hours.
How fast should you speak in a presentation or a video?
- Presentations: 120-150 wpm. You stop for slides and questions, and a room needs more time to absorb a point than a viewer who can rewind.
- Training and instructions: 120-140 wpm, with pauses after each step.
- Explainers and product demos: 140-160 wpm. Leave silence where the screen shows something important.
- Ads and Shorts: 150-170 wpm. Energetic, but past about 170 most voices start to sound rushed.
- Captions: fast speech makes captions fast too. If your video will be subtitled, check the result with the free subtitle reading speed checker; our subtitle reading speed guide explains the limits.
How to measure your own speaking rate
- Choose 250 to 400 words of something you'd really say: a script, a speech or a page of notes.
- Record yourself reading it as you'd deliver it, or time it with a stopwatch.
- Divide the word count by the seconds, then multiply by 60. For example, 320 words in 2 minutes 10 seconds (130 s) is 320 ÷ 130 × 60 = 148 wpm.
- Repeat once on a different text and average the two.
Once you know your rate, use it everywhere: a speech-length chart by word count and word counts by speech length both work at any pace.
Changing the speed of a recording instead
If a recording already exists, you can change its speed rather than re-record. QuickVeed's free Video Speed Changer plays a video at 0.75× to 4× (or slower) and keeps voices at their normal pitch by default. A 150 wpm talk played at 1.25× sounds like 188 wpm, which most listeners still follow; at 2× it's 300 wpm, fine for skimming but hard for anything new. See how to speed up a video and how long a video takes at 1.25× to 2×.
For AI narration, QuickVeed's AI voice generator reads text with 9 text-to-speech models; pacing depends on the voice you pick, so time the first take before you write the rest. Text-to-speech voices for YouTube compares them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average speaking rate?
About 150 words per minute for English. The National Center for Voice and Speech gives about 150 wpm for US English speakers.
Is 150 words per minute fast?
No, it's average. Below about 120 wpm sounds slow and deliberate; above about 170 starts to sound rushed for most listeners.
How many words per minute do audiobook narrators read?
About 155. ACX says most narrators read about 9,300 words per finished hour.
What is a good speaking rate for a presentation?
Around 120-150 words per minute, slower than conversation, with pauses for slides and key points.
How many words per minute is a podcast?
Conversational podcasts often run 150-170 wpm, but it varies a lot by host; there's no official figure.
How do I calculate my words per minute?
Read a passage aloud with a timer, then divide the words by the seconds and multiply by 60.
What speed should I set a teleprompter to?
Your speaking pace: about 130 to 160 words per minute for most people on camera. See how to use a teleprompter.
Try it with your own video
Measure your script with the free words to minutes calculator, then narrate it at the pace that fits. Paste your script, pick a voice, and judge the first take for yourself. QuickVeed plans start at $18/month, and new accounts get a 14-day trial with 250 credits, no card needed. Sign up or see pricing.
Sources
Competitor details in this post were checked against these public pages in October 2026. Products and prices change, so confirm with each vendor before you decide.
