Delivery Rate
This is the average speaking rate—measured in words per minute—you'll typically hear in most podcasts.
What is 150 - 160 words per minute?
Thanks to the primacy and recency effects, these two parts of a presentation are the most likely to be remembered.
What are the beginning and the end?
Using too much of this on a slide—especially in long chunks—makes it harder for your audience to retain information.
What is text?
Practicing your presentation this way—out loud, standing up, and ideally with slides—is far more effective than reading it silently in your head.
What is real-time rehearsal (or speaking it out loud while standing)?
Assuming average speaking speed, this is about how many single-spaced, 12-point font pages you can cover in a 10-minute presentation.
What is 3 pages?
Repeating information the exact same way over and over is the best way to make it stick. True or False?
What is False? (Varied repetition—different contexts, phrasing, and spacing—is more effective for memory.)
These kinds of visuals—like photos, diagrams, or icons—can help people remember content better by engaging both verbal and visual memory.
What are images?
This physical action—used by athletes and performers—helps reduce nervous energy and primes you for focused delivery.
What is warming up (or moving your body)?
In pharmaceutical TV ads, the positive side effects are often delivered at this average rate—well below normal speaking speed.
What is 120 words per minute?
This strategy, which involves spreading out study sessions and actively recalling information, is one of the most effective ways to boost long-term memory.
What is spaced practice and retrieval?
This common presenter mistake frustrates audiences—especially readers—because they can do this faster than the speaker can talk, and don’t enjoy being interrupted while doing it.
What is reading the slide out loud?
This part of your body is often neglected during rehearsal but becomes a major player when nerves kick in—and learning to control it helps you sound calm and confident.
What is your voice (or breath)?
In pharmaceutical TV ads, the negative side effects are often rattled off at this blazing average rate—well above normal speaking speed.
What is 180 words per minute?
This type of activity—often done in pairs or small groups—involves learners talking through ideas together, which strengthens memory by encouraging retrieval and rephrasing.
What is a discussion? (Also acceptable: What is a small group or paired discussion?)
Before PowerPoint, visual aids like transparencies and 35mm slides were costly and time-consuming to produce, so presenters had to do this when deciding what to show.
What is be strategic (or selective)? (Fun fact: PowerPoint changed everything—suddenly, slides were cheap and unlimited… and that’s how we got 87-slide decks full of bullet points nobody asked for.)
Instead of trying to eliminate nervousness completely, effective presenters do this with their nerves to stay sharp and present.
What is channel or manage them?
For literate adults, this is typically faster: reading or speaking.
What is reading? (People who can read typically read about 30% faster than they speak.)
This is the reason why talking through ideas in a small group helps lock them into memory.
(Hint: it involves pulling knowledge out of your brain, not just putting it in.)
What is retrieval practice and refreshing attention spans?
(Also acceptable: What is because it involves active retrieval and rephrasing of information?)
If your audience can’t read this kind of visual—due to tiny labels, clutter, or unclear design—you might as well not use it at all.
What is a graph (or chart)? (Fun fact: Graphs don’t make things clearer by default. They only help if your audience can read and understand them at a glance.)
When this aspect of delivery is too low, it forces the audience to exert effort just to receive the message—leading to fatigue, frustration, and lost attention.
What is volume (or vocal projection)? (Fun fact: You don’t need to shout—but you do need to make it easy for people to listen. If they’re working to hear you, they’ll stop trying.)