How many words is a 1 minute speech?

A 1 minute speech is about 150 words at an average speaking pace of 150 words per minute. Speak deliberately at 130 and you have room for 130 words. Push to a fast 170 and you get 170. The entire spread across all three paces is 40 words, roughly two sentences, which tells you how much slack a 60 second slot gives you. One minute rewards cutting far more than writing. Most people draft 250 words for this slot, then try to talk faster, and that is the one fix that has never worked for anyone.

What fits in 1 minute

This length is the elevator pitch and the 60 second self introduction.

Sixty seconds holds one claim with one reason to believe it. An elevator pitch fits who you help, the problem you take away, and a single proof point. A 60 second introduction at a networking event fits your name, your work phrased so a stranger can repeat it, and one hook worth asking about. A story fits when it is one scene with two people in it.

A structure that fits

1. 1Anchor, 20 to 30 words. Name who you help and what you remove, in one sentence. 'I help hospital schedulers fill night shifts without calling forty nurses one at a time.'
2. 2Stakes, 40 to 50 words. One concrete cost of the problem staying unsolved. Dollars, hours or headcount, with a real number attached.
3. 3Proof, 50 to 60 words. One customer, one result, one timeframe. 'Mercy General took their open shift backlog from eleven days to two in a quarter.'
4. 4Ask, 20 to 25 words. Name the exact next step. 'Can I send you the two page version tonight?' lands better than 'let me know if you are interested'.

Before you deliver it

Run this against a stopwatch until you can begin at any of the four beats, because a 60 second window rarely opens on your schedule. Memorize the first ten words and the last ten words exactly. Everything between them can flex. If you land at 58 seconds in a quiet room you are ready, since real rooms add a handshake, a name you have to catch, and one interruption.