Yoodli Skill: Manage your speaking pace

What is average conversational pace and why does it matter?

Average conversational pace is between 115 – 180 words per minute. If you speak much faster, it could signify nervousness. If you’re much slower, it could bore the audience. While there’s no hard and fast rule about what pace you should speak at, it’s important to vary your pacing throughout the conversation to keep your audience engaged.

Note that pacing is highly context dependent. If you’re on a short call where you want to share multiple ideas, it might be appropriate to talk very fast. In the same vein, if you’re speaking with an audience that is not as comfortable with English, speaking slower can help them grasp what you’re saying.

Either way, make sure you’re using your pacing intentionally (Yoodli can help you track it)

How can I speak faster or slower?

On the Yoodli desktop app, make sure you have the pacing live analytic turned on. Anytime you speak faster than the conversational range, Yoodli will give you a quick alert to slow down. Similarly, if you speak too slowly, Yoodli will remind you to go faster.

At the end of the call, you’ll receive a report showing your overall pacing through your call as well as a graph with variation. Make sure to dive into sections where you suddenly went too fast (were you nervous?) or too slow (were you bored or unsure of what to say?)

If you go to www.yoodli.ai/dashboard, you’ll be able to track your pacing over time and see yourself hit your goal!

Other tips and tricks to vary your pace:

Check out our other articles:

• How to speak faster: https://app.yoodli.ai/blog/how-to-talk-faster-7-tips-to-get-you-started
• How many words in a 5 minute speech: https://app.yoodli.ai/blog/how-many-words-in-a-5-minute-speech

Good luck!