Voice and pace
Speak at a pace people can follow, vary your voice so it doesn't drone, and project so the back row hears you.
SPEAKING RATE
A pace people can follow
A comfortable presenting pace in English is roughly 130 to 160 words a minute; everyday conversation is often a bit faster. Listeners can't rewind you, so they need a little more time than readers. The catch: nerves speed almost everyone up, and it doesn't feel fast from the inside. So on the day, aim to feel slightly slow.
Sara's rehearsal at home runs at a steady pace. On the day, with adrenaline, the same talk comes out a minute shorter. Nothing was cut; she just spoke faster.
Planning a 5-minute talk by word count
about 130 words = about 1 minute
5 minutes x 130 = about 650 words
5 minutes x 150 = about 750 words
Sara's first draft: 1,500 wordsAim for roughly 650-750 words of content.
1,500 words would need about 300 words a minute.
Cut the draft; don't speed up the voice.These are rough numbers for planning, not a rule. Pauses, a story and slide changes all take time too, so erring on the short side is safer.
Check yourself
Sara has a 5-minute slot. Roughly how many words of content should her talk be?
- About 300
- About 650 to 750
- About 1,500, spoken quickly
- It doesn't matter as long as she knows it well
Show the answer
About 650 to 750
Right. At roughly 130 to 150 words a minute, five minutes holds about 650 to 750 words. That leaves room for pauses too.
Nervous pace vs chosen pace
Racing to get it over with
Words blur together, numbers fly past, and there's no gap for anything to land. The audience works hard to keep up and gives up sooner. It also sounds more nervous than you actually are.
Slightly slower than feels right
Each sentence gets its space. Names and numbers come out clearly. From the seats this sounds calm and in control, even when it feels slow to you on stage.
Check yourself
In rehearsal Sara speeds up whenever she feels nervous, and her talk finishes a minute early. What is the best fix?
- Add another minute of material so the talk fills the slot
- Practise saying it even faster so the extra speed feels normal
- Deliberately slow down and add pauses, aiming to feel slightly slow
- Speak louder, which will naturally slow her down
Show the answer
Deliberately slow down and add pauses, aiming to feel slightly slow
Yes. Nerves push the pace up without her noticing, so she sets it on purpose: slower than feels natural, with pauses after key points.
VOCAL VARIETY
Three dials, not one setting
A voice stuck on one setting drones, and attention drifts. Turn three dials:
- Pace: slow down for the key message and important numbers; a lively story can move a little faster.
- Pitch: let it rise and fall as it does in conversation. A flat monotone is the fastest way to lose a room.
- Volume: mostly steady and clear, but a slightly quieter line can pull people in.
Sara tells the duplicated-report story at a brisk pace, then slows right down for her message: "A twenty-minute planning meeting on Mondays... will stop us doing the same work twice."
One sentence, stress moved (capitals = stressed word)
1. We did the SAME report twice.
2. We did the same report TWICE.
3. WE did the same report twice.1. It was one report, done by two people: the waste.
2. It happened twice, not once: the repetition.
3. Our team, not another one: the ownership.Same words, three different points. Before a key line, decide which word carries the meaning and lean on it a little: slightly louder, slightly longer, maybe a tiny pause before it.
Check yourself
- Sara says every sentence at the same speed and on the same note, including "it cost us about eight hours each". Afterwards, nobody remembers the number.
- Sara tells the story at a lively pace, then slows down and stresses "eight hours each". Afterwards, several people quote the number back to her.
What made the difference?
- The second time the talk was shorter
- The second time she used a slide
- She slowed down and stressed the number that mattered
- The audience was more interested the second time
Show the answer
She slowed down and stressed the number that mattered
Exactly. Changing pace and stress tells listeners "this part matters". The flat version gave the key number the same weight as every filler sentence.
Project to the back row
- Pick the back row as your target
Before you start, find someone in the last row. Your job is for that person to hear every word without leaning forward.
- Breathe low, not high
Let the breath go down into your belly rather than lifting your shoulders. A low, full breath gives you steady air for the whole sentence.
- Think "further", not "harder"
Projection isn't shouting or straining your throat. Imagine sending the sound to the back wall. Keep your chin level so the voice goes out, not down into your notes.
- Hold the volume to the last word
Many speakers fade at the end of each sentence, and the end is often where the meaning is. Keep the energy up until the full stop.
Filler words
Sounds and words that fill a gap while your brain finds the next thought: "um", "uh", "like", "you know", "so". Everyone uses some, and a few are perfectly fine. A steady stream of them distracts and can make you sound less sure than you are. The simplest replacement is a short silent pause (the whole of the next lesson).
"So, um, the thing is, like, we kind of, um, did the report twice." Versus: "The thing is... we did the report twice."
Check yourself
Sara notices she says "um" every few seconds when she loses her place. What's the better replacement?
- A different filler, like "so" or "basically"
- Speaking faster so there are no gaps to fill
- Apologising and starting the sentence again
- A short silent pause while she finds the next thought
Show the answer
A short silent pause while she finds the next thought
Yes. A brief silence reads as thinking; a string of "um"s reads as lost. The audience barely notices a short pause.
Habits that cost you the room
- Racing to get it over with. Nerves already speed you up; don't add to it.
- Reading in a flat voice. A script read aloud tends to lose all its rise and fall.
- Dropping volume at the end of sentences, right where the meaning often is.
- Mumbling names and numbers. Slow down and finish the ends of words when the detail matters.
- Never hearing yourself. Record two minutes on your phone once; you'll spot your own fillers and pace in a single listen.
Check yourself
Sort Sara's delivery choices: helps the room follow, or makes it harder?
- Slowing down for "twenty minutes on Mondays"
- Letting her voice fade on the last word of each sentence
- Stressing "same" in "we did the same report twice"
- Keeping one steady pitch so she sounds serious
- Speaking to the person in the back row
- Filling every gap with "so, um"
Show the answer
Helps: Slowing down for "twenty minutes on Mondays", Stressing "same" in "we did the same report twice", Speaking to the person in the back row
Makes it harder: Letting her voice fade on the last word of each sentence, Keeping one steady pitch so she sounds serious, Filling every gap with "so, um"
Lesson recap
- A comfortable presenting pace is roughly 130 to 160 words a minute; nerves speed you up, so aim to feel slightly slow.
- Plan with about 130 words per minute: a 5-minute talk is roughly 650 to 750 words. Cut words, don't talk faster.
- Turn three dials: pace, pitch and volume. Slow down for the key message and the numbers that matter.
- Stress the word that carries the meaning, and end key statements on a steady or falling tone.
- Project by breathing low and aiming for the back row: further, not harder.
- A few fillers are fine; replace a flood of them with short silent pauses.