About how many words do I need for a 10 to 15 minute speech?

Question

I have to give a speech and am putting together an outline as well as my actual speech. About how many words does the average speaker need?

Answer 1

You have to consider a couple variables of a speech. For example, I could tell you that x words are the bare minimum. But that won't mean much if the speaker talks like a machine gun. Or when a speaker talks as slow as molasses. So your speech could end up being much shorter or much longer.

My advice (and it worked well for me as I got an A in the class), would be to write, write, write. Practice your speech in front of people (family members and/or friends?) and have it timed. I'd say to do it twice so you can minimize the fudge factor (+ or - a minute) so you can see how fast/slow you talk and how much you truly have to add to your outline and speech.