How this calculation works
Use a checked manual word count or the stated English automatic token convention. Divide by each entered rate and add the same explicit allowance to each result. Reading and speaking rates are assumptions, not measurements or recommendations.
Scenario minutes = word count / entered words per minute + additional minutesA worked example
For 1,000 words at assumed rates 250 and 150 words per minute with no added allowance, reading time is 4 minutes and speaking time is 6⅔ minutes.
Good to know
A planning scenario, not a measured reading/speaking speed or comprehension target. Default rates are examples. Automatic counting supports Latin-letter English text and treats numeric tokens without expanding their pronunciation. Word definitions, material, rehearsal and delivery can change real time.
Use the same word count with two different rate assumptions
A 1,000-word passage divided by an entered reading rate of 250 words per minute gives four minutes. At an entered speaking rate of 150 words per minute it gives 6⅔ minutes, or six minutes forty seconds. Those default rates are examples to edit, not recommended targets or measurements of your performance.
An additional two-minute allowance produces six minutes for the reading scenario and eight minutes forty seconds for the speaking scenario. The same allowance is added independently to each result. It might represent an introduction or planned pauses, but it does not automatically account for every slide, demonstration or audience question.
Manual mode accepts your checked word count. Paste mode uses the stated English token convention; numbers are not expanded into their spoken form, and hyphenated phrases can differ from another word counter. The Flesch–Kincaid readability calculator examines other passage-count ratios and is not a substitute for timing a rehearsal.
Flesch–Kincaid readability examines sentence and syllable counts in English, while the timing scenarios divide words by separately entered rates.
Rehearsal can replace an assumed rate
If a 900-word rehearsal takes six minutes, its observed rate under that word-count convention is 150 words per minute. Entering that measured rate for a similar delivery gives a more relevant scenario than treating a generic default as your personal speed. A change in difficulty or delivery can still change the result.
Decimal minutes are not written like a clock. A result of 1.5 minutes means one minute thirty seconds, not one minute five seconds. Multiply the fractional minute by sixty when reading the result as minutes and seconds. The time converter can express a fixed elapsed duration in other units.
Reading silently, reading aloud and presenting with interaction are different tasks. This page keeps their rates as assumptions and adds only the allowance you enter. It does not assess comprehension, require a timer to run, upload the passage or recommend sacrificing pauses to meet a target.
A few questions, answered
Does speaking time include audience questions?
Only to the extent you include them in the additional-time allowance. No automatic question duration is inferred.
Can a zero word count still have a duration?
In manual mode, yes: zero words produce only the entered additional allowance. Paste mode requires an actual passage.
Does changing the reading rate change speaking time?
No. Both scenarios share the count and allowance, but each uses its own entered rate.