The Wellspoken Index is a 1,000-point scoring system that measures speaking ability across six weighted dimensions: Structure, Conciseness, Confidence, Pronunciation, Filler Rate, and Pace. Every time you record a practice session, the index analyzes your speech and returns a composite score, detailed sub-metrics for each dimension, and specific feedback on what to improve.
Most people have no objective way to know how well they speak. They rely on gut feeling or the occasional "great job" from a colleague, neither of which identifies what's actually working or what needs attention. The Wellspoken Index solves this by breaking the vague concept of "good speaking" into six concrete, measurable components.
How Does the Wellspoken Index Score Work?
The index assigns a total of 1,000 points across six dimensions, each weighted by its impact on listener comprehension and credibility. The breakdown:
- Structure: 250 points
- Conciseness: 200 points
- Confidence: 150 points
- Pronunciation: 150 points
- Filler Rate: 150 points
- Pace: 100 points
Your total score is the sum of all six. A score of 700+ indicates strong overall speaking ability. A score of 500-700 shows solid fundamentals with clear areas to target. Below 500 means significant room for improvement, which is also where the fastest gains happen.
The weighting reflects research on what actually matters in spoken communication. Structure carries the most weight because disorganized speech is the single biggest barrier to being understood. Pace carries the least because, within a normal range, small speed differences don't dramatically affect comprehension.
What Does Structure Measure?
Structure (250 points) evaluates how logically you sequence and organize ideas. It answers: does your speech have a clear beginning, middle, and end? Do your ideas connect in a progression the listener can follow?
The index evaluates whether you lead with your main point or bury it, whether supporting ideas flow logically, and whether you reach a clear conclusion. High-structure speech feels effortless to follow. Low-structure speech forces the listener to mentally reorganize your ideas, and most listeners won't bother.
Structure carries the heaviest weight because research on speech comprehension consistently shows that organization is the strongest predictor of whether an audience understands and remembers your message. A well-structured 60-second answer outperforms a rambling 3-minute one every time.
Practical exercises for improving structure: practice the PREP framework (Point, Reason, Example, Point) on any topic, or try explaining something in three numbered steps. Read the full structure guide.
What Does Conciseness Measure?
Conciseness (200 points) evaluates the efficiency of your expression. It tracks total word count, sentence count, average words per sentence, long sentence frequency, and redundant phrase detection.
The index flags specific patterns: sentences over 30 words (which listeners struggle to parse in real-time), redundant phrases ("in order to" instead of "to"), and throat-clearing intros ("So basically what I want to say is..."). Each of these patterns costs you conciseness points.
The ideal spoken sentence length is 15 to 20 words. Research on listening comprehension shows a steep drop-off in retention for sentences exceeding 25 words in spoken contexts, because listeners can't rewind and re-read like they can with text.
Conciseness scores improve when you cut qualifiers ("sort of," "kind of"), eliminate restated ideas, and aim to answer any question in under 90 seconds. The Speed Breakdown drill is one of the fastest ways to train this: explain something in 60 seconds, then 30, then 15.
What Does Confidence Measure?
Confidence (150 points) captures your delivery presence and conviction. It's assessed through vocal stability, pacing consistency, strong sentence endings, and overall speaking energy.
This dimension detects patterns like uptalk (rising intonation on statements, making them sound like questions), trailing off at sentence ends, hedging language ("I think maybe," "I'm not sure but"), and apologetic framing ("This might not make sense, but..."). Each of these patterns signals uncertainty to the listener, even when your content is strong.
Confidence scoring focuses on observable behaviors, not personality. An introvert who speaks with steady volume, declarative endings, and zero hedging will outscore an extrovert who hedges and trails off. The dimension rewards vocal mechanics that signal conviction.
Strong sentence endings are one of the highest-impact improvements. When your voice drops in pitch and volume at the end of a statement, it signals completion and certainty. When it rises, it signals uncertainty. Learn the specific techniques.
What Does Pronunciation Measure?
Pronunciation (150 points) evaluates clarity and articulation at the phoneme level. It identifies specific words with pronunciation issues, flags problem sounds, and provides an overall clarity score.
The index uses phoneme-level scoring: each sound in each word is evaluated for accuracy. If you consistently drop the final "t" in words like "important" or blur the "th" sound into "d," the system catches it and shows you exactly which sounds need work.
Pronunciation scoring is accent-neutral. The system measures intelligibility, meaning how clearly each sound is produced, regardless of accent. A speaker with a strong accent who enunciates every syllable will score higher than a speaker with a "standard" accent who mumbles.
The most common pronunciation issues are lazy consonants (especially at word endings), swallowed syllables in multi-syllable words, and unclear consonant clusters. The Tongue Twisters drill targets these by category: S/SH sounds, TH sounds, R/L sounds, and more.
What Does Filler Rate Measure?
Filler Rate (150 points) tracks your verbal fillers deterministically from the transcript. There's no AI interpretation here. The system counts every "um," "uh," "like," "you know," "right," and "so," then calculates your fillers per minute and provides a full breakdown by type.
Sub-metrics include: total filler count, fillers per minute, a breakdown showing exactly how many of each filler type you used, and a timeline showing when fillers occurred during your recording. The timeline is particularly useful because most people have filler "clusters," moments where fillers spike, usually at transitions or when they're searching for a word.
Benchmarks: Conversational speech among native English speakers averages roughly 5 to 8 fillers per minute. Professional presentations typically land at 2 to 4 per minute. Below 2 per minute is considered polished. The index rewards lower rates, but the biggest score jump comes from getting below that 4-per-minute threshold.
The complete guide to filler words explains why you use them and how to reduce them with the Pause Swap technique.
What Does Pace Measure?
Pace (100 points) measures your speaking speed and variation. It's scored deterministically from transcript timing data: average words per minute, standard deviation, minimum and maximum WPM across the recording, and a timeline showing pacing variation throughout.
The index defines ideal WPM ranges: 130 to 160 WPM for presentations and professional speaking, 140 to 170 WPM for conversational contexts. It also identifies rush thresholds (sustained periods above 180 WPM) and drag thresholds (sustained periods below 110 WPM).
Pace variation is as important as average speed. A speaker who maintains a flat 150 WPM throughout scores lower than a speaker who averages 150 WPM but varies between 130 and 170, because variation creates emphasis, holds attention, and signals that the speaker is in control of their delivery.
The timeline visualization shows your pacing across the full recording, making it easy to spot where you sped up (often during nervous moments) or slowed down (often when searching for words). Find your ideal speaking pace.
How Are Scores Generated?
The Wellspoken Index uses two scoring methods depending on the dimension. Structure, Conciseness, Confidence, and Pronunciation are evaluated by AI analysis that reads your transcript, listens to your audio, and scores each dimension against defined criteria. Filler Rate and Pace are computed deterministically from transcript timing data, meaning they're mathematically calculated from your exact words and their timestamps, then enriched with AI-generated feedback.
Both methods run on every practice session across all drill types: Freeform, Q&A, Framework Practice, Speed Breakdown, Daily 60, and every other mode. The system also generates three additional outputs alongside the six dimension scores:
- Phrase improvements: specific alternatives to weak phrases you used
- Vocabulary suggestions: new words to try based on your speaking patterns
- Lexicon tracking: which words from your personal vocabulary you successfully used
How Do I Improve My Score?
Focus on your lowest-scoring dimension first. A 30-point improvement in your weakest area has more impact on overall effectiveness than the same improvement in your strongest area. This is the Bottleneck Principle: your communication is only as strong as its weakest dimension.
Record yourself regularly. The gap between how you think you sound and how you actually sound is almost always larger than you expect. The Wellspoken Index closes that gap with objective data after every session.
Track your scores over time. The Performance chart on the Home tab shows stacked bar visualizations of your recent Wellspoken Index scores, color-coded by dimension, so you can see which areas are improving and which are plateauing.
Key Takeaway
The Wellspoken Index gives speaking ability a number: 1,000 points across six dimensions, each weighted by real-world impact. Structure (250) and Conciseness (200) carry the most weight because what you say and how efficiently you say it matter most. Confidence (150), Pronunciation (150), Filler Rate (150), and Pace (100) capture how you deliver it. Improve your lowest dimension first, and track your scores over time.
FAQs
What is a good Wellspoken Index score?
A score of 700+ indicates strong overall speaking ability across all six dimensions. Scores between 500 and 700 show solid fundamentals with specific areas to target. The most useful metric is your dimension breakdown, since a 650 with balanced dimensions often communicates more effectively than a 700 with one dimension dragging.
How often should I check my score?
Every practice session generates a score, so you get feedback every time you record. For tracking trends, review your Performance chart weekly. Look for which dimensions are improving and which are flat. Most people see noticeable progress within 10 to 15 sessions.
Can the index measure charisma or humor?
The Wellspoken Index measures the six dimensions of speaking mechanics that research links to comprehension, credibility, and retention. It doesn't measure charisma, humor, emotional intelligence, or storytelling ability. Those are real skills, but they sit on top of the foundational six. Strong mechanics make charisma and humor land better.
Track your speaking progress across all six dimensions with the Wellspoken Index. Download Wellspoken