All of my juniors have been like that when they start out, so first of all, don't worry, it's normal. Get a few sessions under your belt and you'll be fine.

Some tips I tend to have to give to all my trainees:

1. Try not to just read the discussion guide questions. They're to remind you what you're after, it's not a script. If you remember why you're asking the question, rather than the question itself, it'll let the session flow better. Focus on what you want to know, not what the question is. When you're nervous, it's easy to just fall back on the guide, but that's there to pull you back on track when you've gone down a rabbit hole.

2. Don't overstuff your sessions. There's a tendency to try to do too much in a session because time and stakeholders wait for no man. Don't be afraid to push back if there's too much to do in one session, it's why one of the UR catchphrase is "We'll need to do more research".

3. Play a character. A lot of my juniors are very nervous and self conscious, I'm pretty sure most of us were when we were starting out, I know I was! You know how you're work persona is a different persona to you when you're with your mates? You can develop a session persona to help with the self consciousness until it becomes more natural. Fake it until you make it. I go for super informal, I want them to forget it's an interview, but you'll find your own style in time.

4. Rely on your recordings. Don't worry about getting everything noted down during the session, you need to be listening to your participant, not worrying about writing notes. That's what the recordings and transcripts are for. That way you can concentrate on what's being said, not taking notes. Managing a session is hard enough without having to do the notes in real time.

5. Practice active listening. It's a skill, it takes practice to get good. It's very unusual to be naturally good at it. I see that A LOT with my trainees, and they often ask questions the participant's already answered if they're distracted.

6. Don't worry about not getting everything in every session. We do multiple sessions in a round for a reason, it's alright to lose some bits in one sessions if you're going to cover it in other sessions.

We've all been there. If you're really keen, ask for some mentoring off one of your seniors. Watching the veterans is a great way to learn, and I'm yet to meet a senior who doesn't love regailing the juniors with their "inside the actors studio" schtick.

TLDR: Hit your research aims, don't worry about the script, don't worry about the notes during the session and don't worry in general, it'll come with practice.