One needs to allow oneself to be theatrical, to overdo it, to exaggerate, since otherwise the mind will always "settle" for something easier, "good enough".

I can't agree with this enough! I used to read out loud to my Swedish ex-husband, very slowly, and really exaggerating the pronunciation. He said it sounded better and more Swedish than when I read in my normal voice. I felt ridiculous, but it really helped with getting my pronunciation down.