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" Dear E. Jean: I was hired straight out of MIT grad school for a nuclear engineering position with the government. I work mainly with military men, mechanics, and engineers; a woman needs very thick skin just to be around them! I&amp;#039;m smart and confident, but I was born with an extremely soft voice and very feminine mannerisms. So I&amp;#039;m criticized for sounding too &amp;quot;sweet.&amp;quot; How do I make myself come across more &amp;quot;manly&amp;quot;? With people constantly pointing out my girlishness, I can&amp;#039;t help but smile, say, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m sorry,&amp;quot; and add an anxious giggle. Awful! I know I need to be more commanding, especially for the promotion I&amp;#039;m working toward. Can I change my natural voice and sweet disposition and get tough with these rugged guys?\u2014Nuclear Meltdown Miss Meltdown: I asked you to call, you called, I listened, and now I know what F. Scott Fitzgerald meant when he said Daisy&amp;#039;s voice was &amp;quot;full of money.&amp;quot; Honey, you could make a mint. A movie director like Nora Ephron or Ivan Reitman could turn your dilemma (MIT cream puff becomes macho marvel and engineers romance) into a big-budget romantic comedy. Your voice is a wonder\u2014like a hummingbird plucking a viola. So, yes, I understand why you&amp;#039;re worried about impressing &amp;quot;military men, mechanics, and engineers.&amp;quot; Get a coach. (In the movie, the coach would be played by Jennifer Aniston, who, I predict, will win the Oscar.) If presidential candidates can be coached in assertive body gesturing and eyebrow gluing before televised debates, you can hire an executive or media coach and work on the essentials: presenting your ideas with intellectual force, removing the giggle, and building unflinching confidence. Good luck, and see you on set! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/life-love/ask-e-jean/advice/a11861/ask-e-jean-are-you-too-sweet/>