You are what you write

COVID19 changed the human perspective in term of work and life. The global economic sinks and the way how we deal and the interaction between human changed. The intelligence and wisdom of a person to solve a problem need a different skill set. However, the right human attitude and behaviour at the workplace remain significant. An analytical approach to one’s personality from handwriting alone can yield many practical benefits.

Is it possible to understand a person’s personality through handwriting? It seems impossible but it really is possible to do so.

Personality inventory can be categorised into projective and non-projective (Kathleen, 1978). Projective personality inventory uses pictures or diagrams to capture responses from the respondent. Hence, this method is a subjective form of a personality inventory.

Graphology or handwriting analysis is the science of interpreting a  person’s character from his/ her personal handwriting. It is categorised as a projective personality test.

The term graphology comes from two Greek words that mean to learn something about writing and the inferring of character or aptitude from it.

Think of handwriting as a type of EEG (brain wave recording) of personality. In fact, some handwriting analysts describe “brainwriting” could be a more descriptive term than handwriting analysis.

Distortions of the result – due to the subject’s knowledge that he is being analysed – is common in most personality analysis tools.

Graphology can analyse a person’s personality without the person, even knowing that he is being analysed.  Through this method,   we can reduce the possibility of inaccuracies due to conscious or unconscious efforts by the subject to affect the result.

It is interesting to learn what your handwriting is able to tell you. Graphology is used widely in varied applications. The common application of graphology is in vocational guidance. Teachers often find they can use it to bring out better behaviour in problem students.

While graphology cannot point to a specific career on the basis of a handwriting sample, it can certainly point someone in the right direction or away from the wrong direction, based on personality, abilities and inclinations.

Besides vocational guidance, handwriting analysis of both partners can confirm compatibilities, point out potential trouble spots and help the couple to understand and accept each other’s weaker points.

People who investigate genealogy have used the service of graphologists to help them better understand their ancestors through an analysis of their handwriting. Graphologists can track clients’ progress in therapy, and some law enforcement agencies use handwriting analysis to determine how dangerous a suspect is, as well as the truthfulness of victim and witness statements.

Graphology is now being used increasingly by employers or assessment centres to help in personnel selection. It is especially used at the shortlisting stages. Small companies, in particular, need to avoid friction and personality clashes between staff as well as getting the right person for the right job.

Some candidates are better at interviews than at their actual jobs; while others blow their chances through nervousness. Handwriting analysis can give a complete picture.

Practical graphology

In practice, it’s better to use graphology to analyse the handwriting of a pure untainted subject, rather than to put the subject under unnatural stress of filling out a long questionnaire. Furthermore, a single personality questionnaire may reveal a single dimension of personality.

However, two handwriting samples of the same person on different occasions may reveal different behavioural characteristics.

In fact, handwriting analysis is an art. Each graphologist has different analytical styles. I have designed my own worksheet to help me to complete my handwriting analysis. In fact, there are a lot of computer programmes that offer the same service.

However, I strongly believe, handwriting analysis is an art that needs human interpretation, and the following are among the key factors I would be looking at:

• Margin of the page;
• Lines;
• Height of writing;
• Slope or slant of writing;
• Word endings;
• Round and angular writing;
• Plain and fancy writing;
• Regular and irregular writing;
• Wide and narrow writing; and
• Thin and thick writing.

This is then followed by a 30-point worksheet analysis:

It is important to identify the limitation of handwriting analysis to avoid unrealistic expectations during analysis.

From the handwriting analysis, we would not be able to determine the age or gender of the writer. What it actually does is to indicate masculine and feminine influence, which is present in both sexes. It reveals maturity rather than actual chronological age.

Nor can graphology predict happenings and future events. From graphology, we can point to a person’s potential that needs to be brought out once they are made aware of it.

My mastery graphology or handwriting analysis, you would be able to learn the real colour of your staffs, and you would be able to select the right talent to continue fighting with you in the battle of COVID-19.

By Datuk Dr Leow Chee Seng