I had to do public speaking recently and I was very lucky to be able to practice my talks with a friend. Thank goodness I did as I froze and lost my point the first few runs. Five runs later I revised the talk, and practiced some more with them.<p>The talk itself was ok, ish, oki, not great, as I relied heavily on my slides, however it was good enough (and the topic was good) - I have since gone on to write longer talks and deliver them...<p>The practice with a friend for me was so useful, and is worth it over using a mirror (for me), being worried about being embarrassed is fine - just throw yourself in and try your best, practice makes perfect. Good luck to all! :-)