Abstract
Speaking-time ratios (STR), utterance and pause durations of oral reading and impromptu speech were investigated for twenty young adults (ten males and ten females). The reading material was the first paragraph of the Rainbow passage. The impromptu speech was elicited by asking the subject to describe a picture. Results showed that oral reading was associated with greater STRs and mean utterance durations and smaller pause durations than the impromptu speech. No gender differences were found for any of the three measures. The average STR value was .87 for oral reading and .69 for impromptu speech. The STR value of .87 for oral reading was much greater than the value of .70 reported by a normative study employing 120 young adults. A potential cause of such disparity and clinical significance of STR measurements was discussed.

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