The target at every rate
| Speaking rate | Words that fit | What that pace is |
|---|---|---|
| 100 wpm | 1,000 words | — |
| 105 wpm | 1,050 words | — |
| 110 wpm | 1,100 words | — |
| 115 wpm | 1,150 words | — |
| 120 wpm | 1,200 words | — |
| 125 wpm | 1,250 words | — |
| 130 wpm | 1,300 words | — |
| 135 wpm | 1,350 words | — |
| 140 wpm | 1,400 words | Presentation preset |
| 145 wpm | 1,450 words | — |
| 150 wpm | 1,500 words | — |
| 155 wpm | 1,550 words | — |
| 160 wpm | 1,600 words | — |
| 165 wpm | 1,650 words | Speech preset |
| 170 wpm | 1,700 words | — |
| 175 wpm | 1,750 words | — |
| 180 wpm | 1,800 words | — |
| 185 wpm | 1,850 words | Podcast preset |
| 190 wpm | 1,900 words | — |
| 195 wpm | 1,950 words | — |
| 200 wpm | 2,000 words | — |
Where the questions come from
"Ten minutes including questions" and "ten minutes plus questions" are different briefs that produce scripts hundreds of words apart, and the difference is worth confirming with whoever gave you the slot before you write. If questions are inside it, the arithmetic is two steps: subtract the question time, then convert what is left.
| Reserved for questions | Left for the script | Word target | Cut from the 1,400-word version |
|---|---|---|---|
| none | 10:00 | 1,400 words | — |
| 1 min | 9:00 | 1,260 words | 140 words |
| 2 min | 8:00 | 1,120 words | 280 words |
| 3 min | 7:00 | 980 words | 420 words |
| 5 min | 5:00 | 700 words | 700 words |
| Reserved for questions | Left for the script | Word target | Cut from the 1,650-word version |
|---|---|---|---|
| none | 10:00 | 1,650 words | — |
| 1 min | 9:00 | 1,485 words | 165 words |
| 2 min | 8:00 | 1,320 words | 330 words |
| 3 min | 7:00 | 1,155 words | 495 words |
| 5 min | 5:00 | 825 words | 825 words |
| Reserved for questions | Left for the script | Word target | Cut from the 1,850-word version |
|---|---|---|---|
| none | 10:00 | 1,850 words | — |
| 1 min | 9:00 | 1,665 words | 185 words |
| 2 min | 8:00 | 1,480 words | 370 words |
| 3 min | 7:00 | 1,295 words | 555 words |
| 5 min | 5:00 | 925 words | 925 words |
Notice the size of these numbers. At 165 wpm, holding back five minutes for questions halves the script — from 1,650 words to 825. Discovering that after the draft is written means throwing away half of it, which is why this is the first calculation to do.
Real talks of about ten minutes
These are the deliveries in our measured set whose window fell between nine and eleven minutes. They make the range concrete: the same rough slot carried transcripts from 1,228 to 1,691 words.
| Talk | Speaker | Window | Words | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model. | Cameron Russell | 9:15 | 1,691 | 183.0 wpm |
| This is what happens when you reply to spam email | James Veitch | 9:21 | 1,228 | 131.3 wpm |
| How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure | 9:36 | 1,657 | 172.5 wpm |
Structuring ten minutes
Ten minutes is the first length where an audience expects a shape they can follow, and the first where they will notice if there is not one. A workable division of 1,650 words: around 165 to open, 990 across three developed sections, 248 for the implication, and 248 to close. That is roughly 330 words per section — about 2:00 each, which is enough for a claim, its evidence and one example.
Two practical warnings at this length. First, ten minutes is long enough for pace to drift away from the rate you planned with, so time the first two minutes on their own as well as the full run. Second, it is long enough to be interrupted: a question mid-talk, a demonstration that misbehaves, a laugh that runs longer than expected. Build in one section you can drop cleanly, and know in advance which one it is.
If you already have the words
Working from a finished draft instead? A 1,650-word script is between the two nearest length pages: 1,000 words runs 6:04 and 2,000 words runs 12:07, so a ten-minute slot sits neatly between them. Whichever direction you come from, the rate is the variable that decides the answer — measure yours and the rest is division.