Dataset · Typing and writing speed
Speaking Rate Statistics: Words per Minute
How many words per minute do people speak in conversation, presentations, reading aloud and recordings?
7 data points from 5 sourcesUpdated October 19, 2026Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0
201words per minute
In the speaking rate in words per minute dataset, the 3 published figures for “Conversation” have a median of 201 words per minute, ranging from 196 to 236.
How it is calculated
343words per minute
In the speaking rate in words per minute dataset, the 2 published figures for “Other” have a median of 343 words per minute, ranging from 32 to 655.
How it is calculated
Every data point
Each row is one published figure for one group, in words per minute. The row opens its fact page with the exact words of the source; the source opens the original.
| Source | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuan et al. 2006, net rate | Conversation | Speakers in telephone conversations | English and Chinese | 2006 | 236 | Yuan et al., 2006 | |
| Yuan et al. 2006, range | Conversation | Speakers in telephone conversations | 2006 | 111 to 291 | Yuan et al., 2006 | ||
| Yuan et al. 2006, overall | Conversation | Speakers in telephone conversations | English and Chinese | 2006 | 196 | Yuan et al., 2006 | |
| Brysbaert 2019, oral reading | Reading aloud | Participants in 77 published studies | English | 5965 | 2019 | 183 | Brysbaert, 2019 |
| Kennedy inaugural address | Presentations and lectures | John F. Kennedy, inaugural address | 2010 | 97 | Liberman, 2010 | ||
| Shannon 1995, Hamlet recitation | Other | Sean Shannon, record recitation | 1 | 1995 | 655 | Swatman, 2018 | |
| BrainGate 2024, copy task | Other | One BrainGate participant, copy task | 1 | 2024 | 32 | Card et al., 2024 |
7 rows. Open a row for the exact words of its source.
Calculated from the rows
Every statistic is calculated by code from the rows above. Open one to see the exact values it summarises.
- 201 words per minuteIn the speaking rate in words per minute dataset, the 3 published figures for “Conversation” have a median of 201 words per minute, ranging from 196 to 236.Calculated from other facts
- 343 words per minuteIn the speaking rate in words per minute dataset, the 2 published figures for “Other” have a median of 343 words per minute, ranging from 32 to 655.Calculated from other facts
- 7 data pointsThe speaking rate in words per minute dataset holds 7 data points, each a published figure traced to its source.Calculated from other facts
- 5 sourcesThe speaking rate in words per minute dataset draws on 5 distinct sources.Calculated from other facts
How this dataset is built
- What counts as a row
- Measured speaking rates in words per minute for a stated kind of speech, from research, corpora and published guidance that states how it was measured.
- What does not
- Rates in syllables or phones per second without a words-per-minute figure, and advice without a measurement.
- How rows are found and checked
- Rows come from the facts already cited across the library and from a structured search of phonetics and speech research (OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar). Each figure is stored as a fact with the exact words of its source, checked automatically against the live page.
- What the data cannot tell you
- Word length differs between languages, so words-per-minute rates compare well only within one language. Pauses are counted in some studies and not in others.
The search record
235
works found by the searches below
56
report a figure in the dataset's terms
0
read and judged by a researcher
0
kept, with their figures checked
The 10 searches, last run October 19, 2026
- OpenAlex: “speaking rate words per minute conversation corpus”, 50 results
- arXiv: “speaking rate words per minute conversation corpus”, 0 results
- OpenAlex: “speech rate words per minute reading aloud”, 50 results
- arXiv: “speech rate words per minute reading aloud”, 0 results
- OpenAlex: “articulation rate speaking rate adults study”, 50 results
- arXiv: “articulation rate speaking rate adults study”, 0 results
- OpenAlex: “audiobook narration words per minute”, 50 results
- arXiv: “audiobook narration words per minute”, 0 results
- OpenAlex: “lecture speaking rate words per minute”, 50 results
- arXiv: “lecture speaking rate words per minute”, 0 results
The whole method, from search to calculation, is on the research data page.
Cite and reuse
You may copy, share and adapt this dataset for any purpose, including commercially, if you credit it with a link. Quoted passages remain their authors' words: cite the original source for those.
Yap (2026). Speaking rate in words per minute [Data set]. https://yapapp.cc/data/speaking-rate
License: CC BY 4.0.
Pages built on this data
- Typing Speed: Average WPM and How to Type Faster
- Speaking Speed: How Many Words per Minute People Talk
- How many words per minute is reading aloud?
- What are the DIBELS words per minute benchmarks?
- What is the average reading speed in words per minute?
- How many words is a 10-minute video script?
- How many words per minute did JFK speak?
- How many words per minute is Eminem's Rap God?
- What is the fastest anyone has ever talked?
- Dictation for Work: Doctors, Lawyers, Writers, Students
- Average Typing Speed: WPM by Age, Gender and Device
- What Is a Good Typing Speed? WPM Levels Explained
- How to Dictate Into Any App: Built-in vs System-Wide
- Dictation vs Typing: When Speaking Beats the Keyboard
- Speaking vs Typing Speed: What the Research Shows
- Writing Speed: Words per Minute by Hand and per Day
- Can you type faster than you talk?
- How do you calculate your speaking speed in words per minute?
- How many words per minute do people normally speak?
- How many words per minute for a voice over or audiobook?
- How many words per minute should you speak in a presentation?
- Is dictation faster than typing?
- Articulation rate
- Do people speak faster in some languages?
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Read the overview: Typing Speed: Average WPM and How to Type Faster