Sebastion - Good points. Here are some more.
The best contest and pileup ops are those that get it right the first time. If you ever see a video of a high rate contest station or DXpedition it doesn't seem like they are going that fast, but they are doing rates of 120+. They use their exchanges effectively.
Anyone can improve their rate. Always use phonetics. If you get part of a call give a report and get his call when he gives his report. Use numbers instead of decades, that is say six five instead of sixty five. Minimize the chit chat. These procedures lead to getting the exchanges and calls right with a minimum of exchanges.
Example: ...
TU QRZ Kilo Kilo Six Mike Charlie
...Pileup...
Four Alpha Sierra Delta Mike Six Five
Kilo Kilo Six Mike Charlie QSL Echo Lima Eight Four Whiskey Four Alpha Sierra
Whiskey Four Alpha Sierra TU QRZ Kilo Kilo Six Mike Charlie
pileup
repeat
If you have to call CQ more than once it isn't a pileup. :^)=
Of course you can't control what the other guy sends, but you can control what you send and the tempo of the whole exchange, which is what it takes to make a lot of QSOs in a short time. It is easy to get overwhelmed, and that is OK, but don't let the pileup know.
Fills take up a lot of time and anything you can do to minimize it with good operating practices will improve rate. This procedure also satisfies those, mostly weak signal ops, who want a valid QSO to consist of both stations copying both calls, a significant piece of information (grid square), and then confirming that the information has been exchanged. This is a valid point, although many, particularly on HF do not necessarily agree.
CW simplifies things a bit, plus there are fewer calling.
Of course the real problem is getting newcomers to move up to linear satellites where multiple QSOs can be supported. - DUffey KK6MC
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