Remember those calluses you used to get on the inside of the middle finger of your writing hand after writing essays and exams at school? Remember ink stained fingers, tippex and inkerasers? The fact I’m asking these questions reflects just what’s happening to handwriting — it’s an art in demise. But writing by hand is a precious thing, as we discussed in detail in a previous blog — and on the 23rd of January it just so happens to be Handwriting Day (in the USA, at least). Your writing skills can say a lot more about you than you’d realise. You’ve probably heard of the art (although graphologists say it is a science) of handwriting analysis. Let’s take a look at this practice and see what you can glean from your own writing skills.
From high blood pressure to HR — the applications of handwriting analysis appear to be endless.
Graphology, defined as “the study of handwriting especially for the purpose of character analysis” by Merriam Webster, is the study of handwriting to ascertain certain psychological, mental, emotional and physical characteristics — even high blood pressure can be divined by looking at the ophidian scrawl of words upon a page. Handwriting analysis has been used in criminal investigations, by historians, by HR departments to examine a candidate’s suitability for a job and even to determine whether two people are romantically compatible.
Large letters mean you’re people orientated; light pressure means you don’t tire yourself out emotionally.
Your writing skills will be affected by your mood, what you’re writing (a shopping list vs a Valentine’s day card) and the pen and paper you’re writing on. The size of your letters, their spacing, how you dot your i’s and cross your t’s and the amount of pressure you apply to the page will all give hints as to what kind of temperament you have. Check out this BuzzFeed video for an overview. It doesn’t stop there, either. There’s even such a thing as the Schwiedland Graphometer, devised by an Austrian graphologist of the same name. The image on this Yank Sceptic blog shows how the angle of how you hold your pen indicates certain personality traits.
Your signature alone can speak reams about your mindset.
Even your signature can reveal some striking insights into your psyche. According to a graphoanalyst talking to the staff at the Huffington Post, if your signature is larger than your actual handwriting it means you’re trying to hide who you really are. Then there’s the question of Justin Bieber’s signature. The pop star writes his first name above his last name, eschewing the convention to write one’s surname (our public identity) immediately after one’s first name (our private identity). We write our name in this order to demonstrate that our surname is more important than our first name, or personal identity. In other words, we’re conforming members of society — at least according to psychotherapist Annette Poizner writing in another Huffington Post article. The fact Bieber writes his first name above his surname implies he values his personal self above that of the collective whole. Interesting. Apparently he isn’t the only childhood star to do this either.
Stationery suppliers might not be able to revive the art of handwriting, but we can certainly keep you stocked up with all the stationery supplies you need to keep your hand in. Click here to sign up for a free 30 day trial of our service.
Image Credit: wikknow.blogspot.co.za