That’s generally my first reaction to being asked to present.
However I just finished a presentation skills course delivered by Kevin Ryan and I learnt that just about everyone on Earth is afraid of presenting in front of their family, friends, work colleagues or even worse the general public.
Kevin took the fear out of public speaking by telling us that no one delivers the perfect presentation. No matter how many times I have read and re-read my presentation I always miss out items, even add some in.
But as Kevin says, does your audience know that you have skipped a part? No, because they don’t know the topic as you do, so they won’t know that you have wandered off-script. It’s all about knowing your topic, but being genuine and engaging with audience in your delivery. No one like the smarmy snake-oil pitch!
Just be yourself, you’ll be amazed at how confident and powerful your presentation will be.