Fact · Typing and writing speed
270words per minute
In a 2021 study, listening comprehension was not hindered at 270 words per minute but showed a steep decline at 315 words per minute, with the same participants and matched texts.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“We replicated the finding that listening comprehension was not hindered at the speech rate of 270 wpm but showed a steep decline at the rate of 315 wpm.”
A Lingering Question Addressed: Reading Rate and Most Efficient Listening Rate Are Highly Similar, Victor Kuperman et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 2021, Abstract.
Open the original- What it measures
- The study compared listening at several speech rates with silent reading of the same texts, using the same participants. The authors found the most efficient listening rate matched silent reading, at 269 words per minute on average.
- What it does not show
- A laboratory test of comprehension, with speech presented at fixed rates to the same participants. The 270 figure is a ceiling for understanding, not a rate that a speaker should aim for in a talk.