- Home
- Word count guides
- 3-minute speech
How many words is a 3-minute speech?
A 3-minute speech is about 390 to 450 words, or 1.6 to 1.8 double-spaced pages.
Work it out
words, at 130 to 150 words a minute
- At 140 words a minute
- 420 words
- Script pages, double-spaced
- 1.6–1.8
- Pages, single-spaced, Arial 12 pt
- 0.8–0.9
- Reading it silently
- 1 min 46 sec
- Paragraphs
- 2–5
Write it in the word counter with a limit of 450 words.
Open the word counterWords for 3-minute speech at different speeds
| Pace | Words | Double-spaced pages |
|---|---|---|
| Measured, 130 words a minute | 390 | 1.6 |
| Typical, 140 words a minute | 420 | 1.7 |
| Conversational, 150 words a minute | 450 | 1.8 |
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.
Three minutes, a popular slot
Three minutes is a common length for a wedding toast, a startup pitch at a meetup, a speech in a school assembly, or a candidate statement. It is also the whole point of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT), the competition started at the University of Queensland in 2008, in which research students explain their thesis to a general audience in three minutes with a single static slide.
Structure for three minutes
- Hook (20 to 30 seconds): a question, a picture, a surprising number.
- Middle (about two minutes): your point and two pieces of support, or one story with a turn.
- Close (20 to 30 seconds): what it means for the listener, or the toast.
Questions and answers
How many words is a 3-minute speech?
About 390 to 450 words. For a 3MT talk, where clarity matters more than speed, many speakers aim for about 400.
How many pages is a 3-minute speech?
About 1.6 to 1.8 double-spaced pages.
How do I cut a speech down to 3 minutes?
Keep the opening and the ending, then remove whole points from the middle rather than trimming every sentence. Paste it into the word counter to see the speaking time as you cut.