RANSVESTIA

When occurring in the middle of words, consonants such as "1", "m" and "n" tend to be lingered over and to serve as a platform for a kinetic change of pitch. Consonants such as "d" and "t" are sounded more gently by a woman. In particular, a woman markedly increases the sibilance of "s" with the lips. (This is more important for British than for American TVs.) There are other finer points, but these are the main ones.

Vocabulary - A woman will convey meaning in a less ab- stract, more visual form than a man, and will use vaguer words for inessential links. Differences in outlook and gender role under- lie considerable differences in vocabulary, which must be studied (unless appreciated instinctively) if the right impression is to be created.

The foregoing points can only be mastered by careful and systematic practice. It is best not to try to work on all of them to begin with. Select one aspect, say intonation, and practice it by reading or conversing into a tape recorder. By far the best way of checking results is in the playback of the tape. Don't worry if, at first, the recording gives you a low pitch. The limited frequen- cies of the machine will favour the lower resonances in a voice. Pitch is a less important factor than intonation, tone and vocabu- lary. As the voice exercises steadily reinforce the chosen pitch and improve control of resonance, it will be found that even the tape recorder and the telephone cannot "get you down."

"I don't think that this is more fun than dressing up."

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