Fact · Typing and writing speed
In a 2017 comparison of one-minute samples, speech was significantly faster in TED talks than in university lectures, in syllables per second and in words per minute.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“speech rate, which was found to be significantly faster in TED talks, in terms of syllables per second”
How suitable are TED talks for academic listening?, Peter Wingrove, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2017, Abstract.
Open the original (DOI 10.1016/j.jeap.2017.10.010)- What it measures
- The study compared one-minute samples from TED talks with samples from university lectures and reported the test statistics for words per minute.
- What it does not show
- The abstract gives the test result, not the mean speeds, so we cite no lecture figure from it. Lectures are not the same as all presentations.