As I was reading "Acting Techniques" I started applying the authoršs techniques
to everyday circumstances in which I felt insecure, or when I felt inadequate.
Gradually I gained genuine self-confidence and the same situations were a breeze. Basically, protein is to
muscles as this book is to your confidence.
Overall, I think the book has some good techniques. I do sales presentations for a living, and I bought this book to share with my presentation team. While many of the techniques are valuable, including some of the spiritual aspects, the author assumes that anyone reading the book has a lot to overcome because of the oppressive, abusive childhoods we all had. Unfortunately, the book is peppered with such comments and examples. I feel sorry for anyone who feels like they have to look at life that way.
Granted, everyone has "traumatic" memories, more out of our immature perception of things, rather than because of the way our parents treated us. Even people with warm, loving, caring parents still suffer from stage fright and anxiety from time to time. I think this is probably where your focus should be when reading these points.
For those of you who aren't into spirituality and/or metaphysics, some of the exercises might seem a little strange - "breathing white light into the spaces between your vertebrae", etc. But they really do help. You just need a little imagination.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trashing the book, just the way some of the ideas are presented. Even if you only read the last few chapters (chapter 24 to the end), you will still get the essence of the book, and a lot of value. Of course, at the amazon.com price, it's even better!
Many different methods are shown for using sense memory and imagination to handle difficult situations such as interviews and public speaking. I have tried one of the techniques for dealing with self conciousness and it worked. The more one practices, the better one should get. It's not a panacea, nothing is, but it should be useful and helpful.
I think the book is practical and I recommend it.