I could “do” public speaking in high school, Jen, but it was not pleasant and probably not very good (thank the gods for no home video cameras in the early 1970s). But our public speaking instructor in college made me think of getting up and talking in a new way: it’s just a play.
I enjoy acting (also not very good at it) so I learned to develop a persona: the Public Speaker. The PS is very confident. The PS does not let minor errors trouble him. The PS regards all errors as minor, if not an opening for humor. The PS reads the room and adjusts his presentation as needed (in one case shifting from “All the Great Things We At HQ Will Continue to Do For You” to “Why HQ Is Pulling Our Heads Out and Not F*cking Up Quite as Often” — my predecessor had left me with a distorted sense of their accomplishments). The PS can be a jerk, sometimes, but hey, talk to the director.