Whenever I type, I always use the same phrase, to tip my cpm in my favor (because I've used it so much). The phrase is "And now for something completely different" - but yeah, not super accurate if it's something you practice typing a lot.
Fastest isn't always the best. It's funny, I had this same conversation yesterday. I was packing up and taking home a few things from work yesterday, and had my G80 (which was my work board until I started toting the hhkb to/from work) with me. The receptionist said "Another keyboard huh??" and I replied with "these are clicky and tactile, a little bit different from this" and lifted the hard case my happy hacking was in. She finger rolled on the home row for a few seconds and said "It's nice...feels like a Remington". I'm assuming that's a typewriter or something, and then she said "I'd probably type faster on laptop keyboards though", and shes right. Less travel means you fingers can move around more, and preemptively prepare themselves for hitting other keys earlier. I told her she was right and then I mentioned the tactility and key shape. By then, it was blank stares, but it was interesting to see the receptionist, who is by no means a keyboard aficionado, notice the travel.