Steven Woodmore (born 1959) is a retired British electronics
salesman
Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale.
The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...
known for his rapid speech articulation, being able to articulate 637
words per minute
Words per minute, commonly abbreviated wpm (sometimes uppercased WPM), is a measure of words processed in a minute, often used as a measurement of the speed of typing, reading or Morse code sending and receiving.
Alphanumeric entry
Since words ...
(wpm), a speed four times faster than the average person. Woodmore was listed by the ''
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as the world's fastest talker, taking the helm from the previous record holder,
John Moschitta Jr.
John Moschitta Jr. (born August 6, 1954), also known as "Motormouth" John Moschitta and The Fast-Talking Guy, is an American actor, singer and spokesman. He is best known for his rapid speech delivery. He appeared in over 100 commercials as "The ...
, in August 1990. Woodmore lost his record in 1995, when Sean Shannon from Canada was able to articulate 655 wpm.
Career
Fastest talker
Steve Woodmore can rapidly articulate at a rate of 637 words per minute,
four times faster than the average human.
Woodmore first realised his skills at rapid speech when he was seven years old. At school, he was asked by his form teacher to recite an 8-minute speech, as a punishment for his talkativeness. It took him only two minutes.
On the British ITV television show ''Motor Mouth'' on 22 September 1990, Steve Woodmore recited a piece from the Tom Clancy novel "Patriot Games" in 56 seconds, yielding an average rate of 637 words per minute, breaking the previous record of 586 wpm, set by
John Moschitta Jr.
John Moschitta Jr. (born August 6, 1954), also known as "Motormouth" John Moschitta and The Fast-Talking Guy, is an American actor, singer and spokesman. He is best known for his rapid speech delivery. He appeared in over 100 commercials as "The ...
Guinness World Records listed Woodmore as the world's fastest talker.
His ability to articulate at such a fast rate is apparently due to his recruiting more portions of his brain to the task than the average person, as shown in an
fMRI
Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI (fMRI) measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area o ...
scan.
Reality television
Woodmore has appeared on numerous television and radios shows, including
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''.
. He is now retired.
In June 2011, Woodmore launched the 5050 Phone a Friend nationwide competition, together with John Lonergan, at an event held in
, in which the Irish public was challenged to beat Woodmore's world record of 637 wpm live on television. The finals were held on 10 September 2011.
and is divorced with four children.