How many words is a 5 minute speech?

A 5 minute speech is about 750 words at an average speaking pace of 150 words per minute. Write 650 if you want room to pause, and closer to 850 only if you speak quickly and have rehearsed it. Aim low. Five minutes is the length people most often overrun, because it feels generous on the page and disappears the moment you are standing up.

What fits in 5 minutes

This length is the wedding toast, the lightning talk and the Toastmasters speech.

Five minutes holds one argument plus one story, or three tightly related points with no story at all. Choosing between those two shapes before you draft is most of the work. Wedding toasts almost always want the first shape, conference lightning talks usually want the second.

A structure that fits

1. 1Hook, 60 to 80 words. A specific moment, not a general observation. 'The night before the interview, Priya rewrote her opening nine times' beats 'preparation matters'.
2. 2Context, 100 to 150 words. Only what the audience needs to follow the rest. This is the section that quietly bloats.
3. 3Body, 300 to 400 words. Either the story in full, or three points at roughly 120 words each.
4. 4Turn, 80 to 100 words. What changed, or what you want the room to do differently.
5. 5Close, 50 to 70 words. Short. Land it and stop talking.

Before you deliver it

Rehearse standing, out loud, at full volume. Silent reading runs 30 to 40 percent faster than speaking and is the single biggest source of overrun. If it comes in at 5 minutes flat in rehearsal, it will run to 6 on the day, because nerves add pauses and audiences add reactions.