All the Business World Is a Stage. . .

In Michael Schrage’s commentary on the rise of “technologies of self-consciousness” (“High-Tech Grip on the Self-Absorbed,” Nov. 7), the author does a disservice to people seeking to achieve higher levels of personal and professional success.

It may be true that personal growth entails anxiety, usually self-generated, but is this a reason to curtail a process so crucial, both individually and socially?

The writer condemns those who take the trouble to make voice-mail answering messages that have a tone that “conveys just the right blend of spontaneity, professionalism and warmth.” And yet a number of researchers have demonstrated the importance of voice quality or vocal image to effective self-presentation.

With so many high-level executives in the marketplace competing for relatively few positions, communication skills are crucial, not just what is said but how--the subtleties of intonation, tone and attitude.

Schrage also criticizes the use of video in corporate contexts: “The managers become more performers.”

In their book “Who’s Going to Run General Motors? What College Students Need to Learn Today to Become the Business Leaders of Tomorrow,” Kenneth C. Green of USC and Daniel T. Seymour of the accounting and consulting firm KPMG Peat Marwick talk about the value of acting training to prepare for the rigors of business: “When an executive makes a presentation before a group of vice presidents . . . there is no doubt that this is very live theater.”

DOUGLAS EBY

Irvine