If I am to speak for ten minutes, I need a week of preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half-an-hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.

US President Woodrow Wilson

Why not speak without notes? If you are a professional speaker, you should always do so. It is not such a difficult art to master as you may think. Actors, comedians and concert musicians do not refer to notes, so why should you? The practice of doing so leaves you free to look at your audience and to think on your feet. It does take more time in preparation, but it is invariably worth it.

By ‘learning the part’ I don’t mean committing a fully written-out script to memory, as the actor or comedian or musician does before going on stage. You have to memorize the plan – the structure of skeleton of your presentation – together with any facts, quotations, stories or examples.

The test is that you must be confident that you can give the presentation without recourse to notes. Your short-term memory is probably much more trustworthy than you imagine. Does it matter if you get the odd word or phrase wrong?

In between the extremes of reading out a prepared script and talking without notes there are several other options. If it is a ‘one-off’ presentation and if you lack confidence to abandon your notes altogether, you could use your slides or flipchart sheets as notes.

Keep a copy of your presentation notes on you or near you so that you can glance at them once you’re on stage. Never be afraid to fish it out and look at it during your presentation if you momentarily lose your bearings.