Have you noticed how your voice and communication can change depending on the situation? How do you talk to a coworker, boss, classmate, friend, family member, coffee shop barista, or pet? What words do you use? How does your voice sound? How is your pitch and how do you move it around? How loud or quiet are you? How much do you talk? What is your communication style - direct? easy-going? something else? What is your body language like?
These questions relate to many of the factors that can affect your voice and communication in context, such as: Who you are talking to, what you are talking about, where you are talking, how long you are talking, what time of day it is, how you are feeling emotionally, how you are feeling physically, or what else might be on your mind in the moment.
Why does this matter? Well, keeping track of your interactions in different contexts can help to define what you want or need to change in terms of gender presentation. If you are considering voice modification, think about the situations you are in. What do you like or not like in terms of your voice generally, and which situations are less or more problematic for you?
And if you are already working on your voice, these kinds of questions can help you keep track of your progress. You may be pleasantly surprised that you are doing better than you think (!), and you can see what you still need to work on. If something didn't go well, what factors were at play? Was it hard to focus on your voice because of the topic? Or because you weren't feeling well? Understanding the WHY may help you juggle particular situations better as well as be kind to yourself if you were in a challenging situation.
The takeaway is that you communicate in complex contexts on a daily basis. Your ability to navigate social interactions as a speaker of natural language gives you a strong foundation to further modify your behavior intentionally and successfully for gender. So, if, at some point, you feel disappointed about how you modified your voice in a particular situation, remind yourself that just being human makes you flexible enough to give it a go next time.