Text 4. Personality and Handwriting

The principles of graphology are very simple. Every thing on a page of handwriting – or missing from it – says something, about the writer. It is like a jigsaw where all the pieces fit together but have a hidden message, as well as a revealed image.

Many of the deductions made in handwriting analysis are really commonsense. Think about how people behave at a party: some people love the noise and beat of the music and spend most of their time dancing, enjoying the attention their actions attract. We make judgments of character from this behaviour. _; .

We could make similar judgments by looking at people's handwriting.

The showy, affectionate, active person will have large, flamboyant writing which demands the reader's attention, together with other signs of an extrovert character.

The quieter, more reflective soul will have smaller, probably neater and more controlled writing, with pointers to a slightly less exhibitionist personality. Two of the most common things people say about handwriting are: “I have two styles of writing”; and «I can't read anything my doctor writes”!

Taking the first statement, it is true that some people have styles of writing that appear, on first sight, to be different.

However, closer examination usually reveals that the key character indicators are the same in both examples: the changes are merely cosmetic. Being more relaxed and not feeling that what you are writing is of great significance ─ does affect the look of the writing – rather as if you have changed from a business outfit to jeans and a T-shirt.

On the question of doctors' writing, it seems to be true that many members of the medical profession have a particularly illegible script. There are two reasons for this. The first is doctors are usually under a lot of pressure and are carrying out the task as quickly as possible. They write in a hurry, and although this does not invariably lead to neglected letter forms, it can have an effect.

The second, and more revealing point, is that illegible writing is subconsciously deliberate: the writer does not want everyone to be able to read it.

Is it neat and tidy, or messy? Is it easy to read? Does it flow, smoothly and fluently across the page? Is it full of eccentricities and odd shapes? You can be sure that the writer deliberately produced it in this form, even if the reasons are subconscious.

Many people protest: “I do all I can to make my writing neat, but it always turns out a mess”. They cannot contradict their true nature: they may wish they were perfectionists, super-organized and superb communicators, but if they are not, their handwriting will show their real self.

Messy writing does not necessarily indicate a messy person: they may be highly adaptable and versatile, or hyperactive, for example.

The bigger the writing, the more emotional is its author. Equally, the smaller the size of the overall text, the more perfectionist and inhibited is its writer, and the more they keep a tight hold on their emotions.

Small writing indicates a slightly withdrawn, often quite intelligent person.

If it is very legible, the writer is pedantic, intelligent, perhaps academic, with excellent powers of concentration and has low self-esteem.

If it is difficult to read, the writer is more independent, perhaps lacking in social skills — a 'difficult' person. Medium writing indicates someone who is fairly conventional, and has a healthy balance between heart and head.

Large writing suggests ambition, generosity, a tendency towards exaggeration, and a need for self-expression.