Speech timer

See whether the words fit the slot

The speech timer on this page is a script calculator, not a green-yellow-red stage clock. Paste the words you will say. Set the target in minutes and seconds. Choose a pace. The speech timer shows how long that word count takes at the pace, how many words per minute you would need to hit the target if you kept every line, and how long a silent read of the same words would take at 238 words per minute.

Empty script, and the speech timer says to enter your script. The estimate is 0:00 until there are words. The default target is 5 minutes 0 seconds. The default pace is Conversational, 130 words per minute. The other presets are Slow and deliberate at 110, Energetic at 150, and Fast at 170. The speech timer does not invent a personal pace. Measure yours on the words per minute calculator, then type that rate. Any whole number from 60 to 260 is accepted. The presets are only shortcuts.

Use a sample script loads 64 words written for this page. At 130 words per minute the speech timer reports about 0:30. Against a 5:00 target that sample is about 4:30 short. The speech timer is telling you the sample is a control, not a talk. Replace it with your draft before you trust the fit.

How the speech timer counts

A word is a run of letters or digits, with an apostrophe allowed inside a contraction. The speech timer uses that count, then seconds = words ÷ words per minute × 60. 130 words at 130 words per minute is 60 seconds. 650 words at 130 is 5 minutes. Headings you will not say still count if you paste them. Delete them.

The speech timer calls the draft on pace when the estimate is within 5 seconds or within 5 percent of the target, whichever is larger. Outside that band, it says the draft is long or short by a clock time. If it is long, the speech timer also names the words-per-minute rate you would need to finish on time without cutting. Treat that rate as a warning. Cut words before you adopt it.

Silent read is the same word count at 238 words per minute. It is there so you can see the gap between eyes and mouth. A silent read that feels "about five minutes" is often a spoken draft of eight. The speech timer separates those clocks on purpose.

The target minutes field accepts 0 to 180. Seconds accept 0 to 59. A target of 0 makes the speech timer ask you to set a target. Set the slot you were actually given, not the slot you wish you had.

A five-minute example

Paste only the spoken lines. Suppose the speech timer counts 800 words and the pace is 130. 800 ÷ 130 × 60 is about 369 seconds, which is 6:09. Against 5:00 the draft is a bit over a minute long. The rate required to keep every word is 800 ÷ 5 = 160 words per minute, which this page would round and label as a faster pace than conversational. The speech timer is not telling you to speak at 160. It is telling you to remove about 150 words if you want to stay near 130.

150 words is one example or one recap, not "tighten the language" in the abstract. Delete a paragraph, paste again, and let the speech timer recompute. If you are now inside the band, stop editing for time and read it aloud. The speech timer cannot hear breaths, laughter, or a demo. Add those seconds yourself by reserving them in the target, or by leaving the estimate a little short.

A 200-word update at 130 is about 1:32. If your meeting slot is 3:00, the speech timer will say you are short. Use the spare time for one question, not for a second update you have not prepared.

Long, short, and the wrong fix

When the speech timer says long, the wrong fix is Fast at 170 while the sentences stay written for the page. You will rush the numbers and skip the ask. Cut first, then rerun the speech timer at the same 130. If it is still long, cut again. Only raise the pace when a timed read on the words per minute calculator shows you truly speak there without losing the last line.

When the speech timer says short, the wrong fix is a new anecdote with no job. Add one example that proves the sentence you want repeated, or plan a slower close and a pause. Check the pause planner if the shortness is actually a missing hold. The speech timer's estimate assumes continuous speech at the pace you entered. Planned pauses make the live talk longer than the estimate.

Nerves often speed a live pass. A speech timer result that is exactly on 5:00 at 130 can still finish early on the day. Leaving the estimate slightly short is the buffer. Do not add a second conclusion to fill a fear of silence.

What this speech timer will not do

It will not count down on a stage with colored lights. Other sites do that, and they are the right tool when you need a visible green, yellow, and red while you are already speaking. This speech timer answers a planning question: do these words fit that slot at a pace you chose?

It will not upload the script. Refresh clears the box. It will not detect filler words, slides, or video length. It will not average your last five rehearsals. One paste, one target, one pace.

It will not handle a bilingual script specially. Every matched token counts as a word. If you mix languages, treat the estimate as rough and confirm with a timed read. The speech timer is built for English drafts of talks, toasts, and updates.

Do not paste a confidential strategy doc into a shared machine and leave the tab open. The speech timer has no account to log out of. Close the tab.

Use the result, then speak

If the speech timer says the draft fits, move to the online teleprompter or simply stand up and say it once. A second calculation with the same numbers is delay. If it does not fit, edit, paste, and look once more.

Then record one pass if you want to know whether your real pace matches the number you entered. The speech timer's 130 is a label until your mouth agrees. Bring a measured rate back and type it, including a rate such as 142 that sits between the presets.

For a word budget without a full script, use the speech length calculator. It tables 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes at the pace you set. The speech timer is the tool once the sentences exist.

Use the number, then cut or speak

The speech timer is a script-to-time check. Paste only words you will say. Set the slot in minutes and seconds. Pick a pace you have actually used: 110, 130, 150, or 170 words per minute, or a custom rate from the words per minute calculator. The speech timer then says whether the draft is on pace, long, or short. On pace means the estimate is within about five seconds or about five percent of the slot, whichever is larger. Long means cut words before you raise the pace. Short means you have room for one example or a slower close.

A worked case: 800 words at 130 words per minute is a bit over six minutes. A five-minute slot at that pace wants about 650 words. The speech timer will tell you the draft is long and will show the rate you would need if you kept every line. Needing 160 words per minute to survive your own draft is a writing problem. Cut about 150 words and check the speech timer again. Do not plan to talk faster on the day.

This speech timer does not run a green, yellow, and red light while you are standing up. It does not listen. Silent reading on the page is a separate, faster figure near 238 words per minute and is not your speaking plan. Nerves often speed a real delivery, so leave the estimate slightly short of the slot. The speech timer does not store the script.