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How many words is a 15-minute speech?
A 15-minute speech is about 1,950 to 2,250 words, or 7.8 to 9 double-spaced pages.
Work it out
Line spacing
words, at 130 to 150 words a minute
- At 140 words a minute
- 2,100 words
- Script pages, double-spaced
- 7.8–9
- Pages, single-spaced, Arial 12 pt
- 3.9–4.5
- Reading it silently
- 8 min 49 sec
- Paragraphs
- 10–23
Write it in the word counter with a limit of 2,250 words.
Open the word counterWords for 15-minute speech at different speeds
| Pace | Words | Double-spaced pages |
|---|---|---|
| Measured, 130 words a minute | 1,950 | 7.8 |
| Typical, 140 words a minute | 2,100 | 8.4 |
| Conversational, 150 words a minute | 2,250 | 9 |
Estimates for US Letter or A4 with 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins and ordinary paragraphs; reading at 238 words a minute, speaking at 130 to 150.
A quarter of an hour
A conference talk, a webinar segment, a short sermon, a keynote at a small event, or a talk at a school graduation. At fifteen minutes you have time for a proper story arc: a problem, what was tried, what worked, and what the audience can take from it.
Keep fifteen minutes alive
- Change something every three to four minutes: a story, a demo, a question to the room.
- Write the opening and closing word for word, and speak the middle from notes.
- Time it twice: once reading, once speaking to an imaginary room. The second is the one to trust.
Questions and answers
How many words is a 15-minute speech?
About 1,950 to 2,250 words.
How many pages is a 15-minute speech?
About 7.8 to 9 double-spaced pages, or four single-spaced pages.
How many slides for a 15-minute presentation?
Commonly 10 to 20. Fewer, stronger slides make a talk easier to follow.