I work on my voice training regularly. When I first started, I seemed to fail miserably nearly all the time. With practice, though, it's gotten better. My most frequent "tests" are when I speak to someone that doesn't know me over the phone. With the practice and feedback, I know how it sounds and feels (in the voice box) when I nail it. Funny thing is, I can't do it with the regularity that I'd like, and I don't know quite what it is that lets it happen sometimes and not all the time.
But when I do nail it, I think it's one of "the little things" that you described.
-AshleyP