How many words per minute did JFK speak?

The figure we can source best for John F. Kennedy is an overall rate of 96.5 words per minute for his inaugural address, counting every pause ¹. That is slow compared with everyday conversation. Measured bursts of his speech reached 327 words per minute ², but those were short stretches, not the pace of a full speech. So the answer depends on whether you mean the whole speech or a burst.

His inaugural address averaged 96.5 words per minute overall

The overall speaking rate of Kennedy's inaugural address was 96.5 words per minute ¹. The same source ranks it as the second slowest of the inaugural addresses in the past 60 years, so the figure is slow even by the standards of that occasion.

The overall rate divides the words by the full running time, so every pause, whether for emphasis, applause or a breath, lowers the number. The figure describes one formal address, so it does not describe Kennedy's speech in general.

His measured bursts reached 327 words per minute

A 1961 magazine report, quoted in a 2010 post on the Language Log blog, says Kennedy was timed in bursts of 327 words per minute ².

The figure is a report of bursts, not an average. A burst is a short stretch of speech, so it leaves out the pauses that a whole speech includes. Quote it as "bursts at 327 words per minute", not as the rate of a speech.

A longer speech works out to about 138 words per minute

The same Language Log analysis looks at a 6,507-word speech Kennedy gave to the National Association of Manufacturers. If it took the full 47 minutes reported, its overall rate would be about 138 words per minute ³. That is faster than the inaugural address, so the two speeches differ by a wide margin even within Kennedy's own public speaking.

This figure depends on the reported running time of 47 minutes. It is an estimate from a reported length, not a timing taken from the recording, so treat it as approximate.

The figures compare with everyday speech

Measured the same way, everyday conversation averages 196 words per minute with pauses counted ⁴. Kennedy's inaugural address, at 96.5 ¹, was well below that. A formal address is delivered differently from a conversation, so the comparison is between two kinds of speech, not between two speakers.

The comparison also shows why overall rates differ from burst rates. A speaker can reach a rate well above conversation for a few seconds and still average far less across a long speech. For a fuller comparison of rates, see how many words per minute people normally speak.

What the figures mean for a speech of your own

If you are writing a formal address, the overall rate is the one to plan with. At 96.5 words per minute, a 10-minute speech is about 965 words ⁵. A script sized for conversation would run far longer than planned at the inaugural's overall pace, and a script sized for a burst would run far shorter than planned, so pick the rate that matches the kind of delivery you intend.

Use the overall rate for timing, and treat the burst figure as a fact about peak speed. To check your own pace, time a recording of yourself and divide the words by the total minutes, as described in the guide to speaking speed. That guide covers the full range of rates from conversation to record-breaking speech, and the overview of typing and writing speed sets speaking beside typing. For planning a talk, see how many words per minute to speak in a presentation. For the fastest speech on record, see the fastest speaking speed.