This speaking time calculator takes the figures you already have and applies the relationship behind speaking time calculations for you, giving custom speech rate and your speech rate from speaking time and number of words.
What Is the Speaking Time Calculator?
The speaking time calculator turns speaking time and number of words into custom speech rate and your speech rate.
It is a quick way to get from the numbers you have to the number you need, without setting up a spreadsheet or reaching for a formula.
How the Speaking Time Works
Each result follows from the ones before it, and the calculator shows every step, so a surprising answer can be traced back to the input that caused it.
Round your inputs to the precision you actually know, and keep more precision than that in the intermediate steps.
Getting a Result You Can Trust
Run the calculation twice with slightly different inputs. A sensible calculator moves its output in proportion; a wild change points to a unit or a decimal point problem in what you entered.
Write the inputs down next to the answer. It takes a moment and it is the difference between a number you can explain and one you cannot.
A Worked Example
Working through an example, with speaking time set to 10, number of words set to 5, the calculator returns custom speech rate of 0.5, and your speech rate of 0.5. Substitute your own figures and the same steps produce the same kind of answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to work out custom speech rate?
Enter speaking time and number of words. The calculator then works through the relationship and reports custom speech rate and your speech rate.
What does the speaking time actually calculate?
It takes speaking time and number of words and converts them into custom speech rate and your speech rate using the standard relationship for this problem. Each step is applied in turn, so every output is traceable back to the numbers you typed in.
How should I enter speaking time?
Use the value you actually have, in the unit shown next to the field. Enter every value in the same unit system. The calculator assumes the figures you supply are consistent, so it cannot correct a mistake that happens before the calculation starts.
Why does a small change in one value move the answer so much?
That happens when an output depends on a ratio, because dividing by a small number magnifies any change in it. Check the units first, then check whether the value you entered is in the range the relationship was designed for.
Does anything you type get stored?
No. The whole calculation runs inside your browser, and nothing you enter is uploaded, logged or sent anywhere.