How long is a 2000 word speech?

A 2000 word speech takes about 13 minutes 20 seconds at an average speaking pace of 150 words per minute. At 130 it stretches to 15 minutes 23 seconds, and at 170 it comes in at 11 minutes 46 seconds. Nearly four minutes separate those two, which is more than most conference schedules can absorb. Sessions at this length get booked as 20 minutes with Q and A, so 2000 words leaves you the questions instead of eating them.

What fits in 2,000 words

This length is the conference session slot and the keynote main segment.

Two thousand words holds three arguments with evidence for each, or one case study told end to end. This is the first length where an audience can absorb a framework and remember it, so the talk can teach rather than persuade. Twelve to fifteen slides. Budget 200 words for the recap, because at 13 minutes people lose the thread of your opening by the time you close.

A structure that fits

1. 1Frame, 200 to 250 words. Name the problem and tell them the shape of the next 13 minutes. Audiences relax once they know how many parts there are.
2. 2Part one, 450 to 500 words. The case or the first argument, with the data behind it.
3. 3Part two, 450 to 500 words. The complication. What part one leaves out.
4. 4Part three, 400 to 450 words. The resolution or the framework, stated so someone could apply it on Monday.
5. 5Recap and close, 200 to 250 words. Restate the three parts in one sentence each, then give the single sentence you want quoted.

Before you deliver it

At 13 minutes you will lose your place at least once, so rehearse the recovery. Practice saying 'the second thing' out loud as a way back into the structure. Do one full run in the morning and one at the actual hour you speak, because energy moves your pace by 10 percent in either direction. Build in two 200 word sections you can drop live when the session before yours runs over.