It's all in your hand

• Different strokes

How many of us to day take the time to sit down and put pen to paper? No, I mean pen to paper, not finger to computer. Seriously, come to think of it most of us don't, right? Not even in the case of a love letter (excusable as there would be too many drafts before the final masterpiece). A chat on the Internet or an e-mail is all that it takes to get rid of all the scrawled on and crumpled paper lying around a messy room. 

And when you finally decide to get down to some serious writing (pen on paper), have you ever paused to think about your handwriting? In the past, it was considered important to have a good script but with the advent of the computer, most of us bother little about how we write. 

But wait. What if, the person receiving this letter is a graphologist, one who can analyse your personality through your writing. A frightening thought, isn't it? 

Personally I would dread someone ever poring over my handwriting but this concept is increasingly being used in the West with companies looking to identify personality traits in their prospective employees. 

In Sri Lanka, though, graphology is a little known skill and professional graphologists are hard to find.

Graphology or analysing handwriting is in one way a form of psychology and a piece of detective work on the other. The moment you put pen to paper you really do give yourself away. Your writing can reveal the genius in you, the kindly, caring qualities you possess or even that stingy and excessively morbid streak that perhaps you aren't even aware of.

And when forgery is involved, expert opinion is sought and the Government Analyst's Department is the place you go to. Here, heads bent over microscopes examine questionable documents. Their job is to identify different types of handwriting and see if they are authentic or not. 

According to the experts working here, although handwriting is often forged, like fingerprints, a person's handwriting is unique. No individual's handwriting can be forged one hundred percent accurately. While hand writing changes over time (a natural variation) certain prominent features that identify a particular type of handwriting with its owner hardly changes. Experts say that whether you write with the left/right hand or your toes, it does not make a difference in the unique features. Although at a glance it looks different a close examination will show that the writing is not in the least bit different.

Handwriting analysis is considered a projective technique which can profile human behaviour in the areas of social skills, thinking styles, achievement, work, habits and possible ways of dealing with stress. Handwriting analysis is a way of studying the frozen graphic structures which have generated in the brain and which are placed on paper in a printed and or cursive way.

It is also a way to compare different personalities and their potential for compatibility in the areas of problem solving, interpersonal skills, how they would fit into a team situation and how they would react under pressure. It is a method to view the emotional development of an individual, relative to maturity and consistent actions. 

Usually in the analysis of handwriting a few basic concepts are used. Some of them include size, slope, slants etc. In forming judgments graphologists refer to the drift in lines of writing, whether up, down or horizontal, the angle of writing which is the way it slopes, the style of writing, whether it is angular, round, and so on. 

The spacing used throughout, the margins, their size, the pressure used by the writer, the details of the various letters particularly the dots on 'i' and crosses on 't', etc. are important factors.

These characteristics help determine what type of a person you are. Apparently, there are 360 character and personality traits that can be determined through a person's handwriting. Say for instance that lower case 'r' s have a flat top and your 'm's and 'n's are rounded. That is said to show manual dexterity and logical thinking. 

The slope of the lines is an important consideration. Does your writing tend to run up to the right hand corner? If so, you are to be congratulated on having a good proportion of hopefulness, some ambition, and an extra share of optimism. 

If you kept on straight across the page , writing on a blank sheet almost as though you had lines on the paper, then you possess a calm mind, collected in a crisis, and you display much care over detail. If you always write in this manner you are rarer than you suppose, for few people manage to develop the necessary straightness of eye, and where straightness is present there is invariably a good sense of form. Generally the straighter the writing, the better the mentality.

If your writing does take a turn downwards towards the right hand bottom corner, don't worry much, although it is the hallmark of pessimism and discouragement. But, if it shows a mixture of slopes, then you are considerable moodier that you should be - life is a series of ups and downs, and you probably need a holiday!

Angles of writing are usually illustrated in certain books according to Dr. Schwiedland's Graphometer. This shows that there are six main slopings. Writing which slopes backwards indicates timidity and cowardice while upright writing shows a somewhat cold nature according to Dr. Schwiedland. 

A normal slope is indicative of the 'average man', a little bit more slanted at an angle of 40 degrees would show animal vitality with plenty of will power. Extreme sensitiveness and gullibility is indicated by an angle of around 60. A 30 degrees angle towards the right indicates chronic conditions of mind, a fear-stricken personality etc, according to Schwiedland.

Rounded writing apparently marks a genial, lovable disposition. The rounder the writing the more popular that person is likely to be. If the writing is so angular that when you look at it, there seems to be more sharp corners than curves, then you are said to be energetic, and the general tone of your personality is strong, with a love of efficiency. 

But many people have a mix of roundness and angularity which shows that they have generally stronger mental qualities along with kindness. 

Writing with a significant squareness is the mark of a scientific mind.

A lot of space between lines means that you are open-hearted, probably freer with money than you should be. If you leave no margins however, then obviously you are not so generous. Narrow margins show that economy plays a great role in the ideas and wide margins imply appreciation of beauty and desire for cultivated ideas. 

The size of one's writing indicates capability of appreciation and concentration, according to graphologists. Large writing indicates love for power, small writing means love for details. 

If there is pressure on the pen then you are a physical/materialistic type, light writing shows a vital style. 

In Sri Lanka, graphologists are extremely rare. There are writing experts at the Questionable Documents Examination Department in the Government Analyst's Office. To become such a forensic scientist is not easy. The minimal requirement includes a B. Sc chemistry honours degree and you have to pass an examination conducted by the Sri Lanka Scientific Services establishment. There are many web sites and books available for anyone who is interested in taking up graphology. 

Detailed analysis of the handwriting of celebrities and various public personalities are also available on the Web. So if you think you have the makings of a Mahatma Gandhi, Bill Clinton, Sigmund Freud or Albert Einstein to name a few, check it out. You will be surprised at what graphologists have to say about them.

Although most of us tend to disregard it, graphology is an accepted science and in fact there are several US and UK based Associations of Graphologists. And in the West, often employment advertisements specifically state that applications should be written strictly in one's own handwriting. 

So, maybe it is time that you gave more attention to your writing. Remember you may escape typing a letter but don't forget you still have to sign it. And that can be a dead giveaway. 

Different strokes

Ignorant: heavy and awkward, little sense of form,obvious disliking for writing or inability to write properly.

Professional:small words strung together, maybe illegible.

Harmonious:flowing and well balanced.

Clerical: formal, copy bookish and ordinary; lacking distinction.

Intellectual:smallish, harmonious and well punctuated.

Round:abounding in curves and indicates kindness.

Angular:abounds in angles and indicates some form of severity.
Inclination

Running up: optimistic and aspirational.

Horizontal: level headednes and discriminational.

Runing down:pessimism and discouragement. A mixture of these: moodiness.

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