What Marlon Brando and Gorillas Can Teach You About Self-Confidence

Would you like to have more confidence and be able to overcome nervousness or shyness in social and business situations?

Then do what top Hollywood actors do, at least on screen, if not in their so-called real lives.

They can change their emotions in an instant, and so can you.

Jane Marla Robbins, author of "Acting Techniques for Everyday Life: Look and Feel Self-Confident in Difficult Real Life Situations," has appeared in three of the Rocky movies, Stephen Spielberg's Arachnophobia, ER, Murder She Wrote, Beverly Hills 90210 and many other film and TV productions.

In addition, she has appeared on Broadway in her own and other people's plays.

"I realized at some point that the techniques that I so painstakingly attempted to master as an actress so that I would feel confident on stage could be used in my real life," she says.

Robbins teaches these powerful exercises to individuals and groups.

One of the techniques she teaches is the use of sensory images.

Here's how it works.

Think of a person, place or an event that makes you feel calm, centered or relaxed.

"When you do, your body will react as if that person were in front of you or that event was taking place," Robbins says.

This technique is especially useful in a job interview.

When Robbins met Spielberg's partner, Kathleen Kennedy, to discuss getting a part in Arachnophobia, Robbins imagined seeing Kennedy in the blue coat worn by her best friend from college.

"I might have imagined my friend's eyes or heard her laugh, but the coat was all I needed because it was so bright," Robbins says. "I felt my entire body relax and began to feel such warmth and peace. I got the job and did the film."

When Marilyn Monroe was about to shoot her first scene in The Princess and the Showgirl with Sir Laurence Oliver, she was intimated by the acting legend.

The sexy, dynamic actress became tense and stiff. Paula Strasburg, her acting coach, told her to pretend that Olivier was "Frankie Sinatra," with whom Monroe was having an affair.

She became full of life, which was reflected in her performance, according to Robbins.

Marlon Brando used the Animal Exercise to help him win an Oscar for Streetcar Named Desire.

In the scene where he stands outside and yells "Stella!" and pounds his chest, Brando imagined he was a powerful gorilla.

According to Robbins, he studied a gorilla at the zoo before shooting the film.

You can use this exercise to make yourself feel confident and powerful. Let's say that making important business calls intimidates you. Before making a call, walk around and ask yourself what it would feel like to be a gorilla.

Imagine your chest feeling bigger. Maybe you feel you have the power to crush trees. According to Robbins, the more you can get in touch with your body, the more many of the techniques she teaches will work for you.

Another way to psych yourself up is to imagine a song or melody that is meaningful to you, one that inspires you.

Robbins says that a lot of actors use music.

While filming the big fight scene in Star Wars Episode II :Attack of the Clones, Samuel L. Jackson heard the Star Wars theme music in his head.

"It gave him the energy and power to do that fight scene," Robbins says.

When Billy Crystal did the Academy Awards, he says he had a toothbrush in his pocket to make him feel comfortable and as if he were at home, according to Robbins.

She used to carry her grandmother's locket in her pocket.

"Everyone is different so it is important to play around with the techniques to see what works for you. They do work. It's because of the way our brains and bodies are wired," Robbins says.