13 Sneaky Secrets Your Handwriting Could Reveal About You

Many movie or TV plots often have a climax where they catch the bad guy, using nothing more than handwriting comparison. But does your handwriting actually reveal things about you? The art of studying handwriting, graphology, certainly thinks so.

Experts can read your handwriting and get an insight into your personality. So let’s flip the script, and learn how you could use your handwriting to score a top-notch job, or blow people away.

What can your handwriting reveal about you?

As per Annette Poizner, a certified graphologist, handwriting is analyzed to gain a deeper understanding of a person’s behavior, motivations, or personality. From the ink trail you leave to the slant of your writing, everything leaves clues about you, especially for the experts. She claims graphologists can predict the following things from your handwriting:

• Personality style: Experts can look at your handwriting and figure out if you are an extrovert or an introvert, a team player or a lone wolf, and much more.
• Level of intelligence and cognitive thinking style: Your handwriting can also reveal the kind of intelligence you have and even reveal how intelligent you are on the whole.
• Natural or developed talents: Things like musical talent, creative writing, and arts leave a faint signature in your handwriting, something graphologists can pick up.
• Defining characteristic: Are you a people person, or someone more into culture, or even a perfectionist? This is something handwriting experts can glean from your writings.
• Attachment style: A written page of yours can even reveal your attachment style, telling experts if you are secure, anxious, or driven by fear.
• Unconscious motivation: From being guilt-ridden to impulsive, quick to anger, or prone to sadness, there is a lot that your handwriting can say about your inner drive.
• Which part of the world you are from: Finally, your handwriting can provide an insight into the part of the world you were raised in. For instance, looped cursive could mean you were raised in Britain or places where the education system still follows British learning (like India).

What parameters are used to read your handwriting?

Graphologists tend to read your handwriting based on simple parameters like the pen pressure on paper, the slant of your letters, the upward and downward loops in your letters, as well as the size and shape of them. The spacing of your letters also offers further clues.

It all began in the 17th century, when Italian physician Camillo Baldi published the first known book on the subject. It was much later when Jean-Hippolyte Michon coined the term graphology. Ludwig Klages is credited with developing it into more of a systematic science.

Here’s what your handwriting might say about you.

• Large letters vs. small ones: Large letters usually indicate that you are people-oriented and like attention. Handwriting with smaller letters, like that of Albert Einstein, could mean that you are introverted and have high concentration levels.
• Left- or right-slanted, or straight: If your handwriting has no slant and is straight, it can mean you are logical, solidly grounded, and pragmatic. A slant to the right may indicate that you are impulsive, family-oriented, and sentimental. On the flip side, a left slant could mean you are a workaholic, more self-centered, and reserved.
• Heavy pressure vs. light pressure: If your handwriting leaves an imprint on the next page, it could mean you are assertive, quick to react, and rather energetic. A light pressure could point to a person being less emotional and submissive and more adaptable.
• Loops vs. retraces: Wide loops on the lowercase “l” could indicate a jolly, playful, and warm-hearted nature, while narrow loops could point to more inhibitions and a more self-conscious nature. No loops or retraces could indicate a person who plays by the rules and is agreeable. When it comes to the lowercase “t,” a loop could mean extreme sensitivity, while retracing could show self-control and discipline.
• Rounded vs. pointed letters: Rounded letters could mean the person is more agreeable and emotional, while pointed letters hint at irritability, critical thinking, and even anger management.

• Loops in lower zone: When it comes to lowercase “y,” a broad loop shows an extroverted nature, while a narrow one could mean the opposite. Similarly, a longer loop could show a love for traveling while a shorter one may announce, “Homebody!”
• Cursive, mixed, or disconnected letters: Adults who continue to use cursive writing usually show logic and conformity, while writing in disconnected letters often shows a tendency for independent thinking and rebellion. People who use mixed letters show creativity, common sense, and ingenuity simply because this writing is more efficient.
• Writing slow or rushed: People who have perfectly formed letters and write a bit slow are detail-oriented and like to finish one task before they go to the other, at their own pace. On the flip side, people with fast handwriting could show signs of high intelligence, in that their hands cannot keep up with their brains. On the flip side, it could mean impulsiveness and impatience.
• Uniform letters vs. inconsistency: Having a uniform handwriting could indicate rigidity but also a balanced personality. Inconsistent size of letters could indicate a psychologically young person or someone who is chaotic by nature.
• Spacing between letters: Someone who leaves a lot of space between letters may be isolated or lonely, while less space could point to an intrusive or needy nature. Perfect spacing could hint at objectivity and high organizational skills.

Dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s.

• The cross on your “t”: People who sweep flourishes on their lowercase “t” are generous and giving, while a higher end stroke, towards the top, shows ambition. People who add the stroke in a downward slant may show a pessimistic streak.
• The dot on your “i”: A tiny on the lowercase “i” could hint at perfectionism and perfectionism, while a bigger dot or something more detailed and creative could show a playful or attention-seeking nature. A dot that’s more of a line could mean a fiery temperament.

Your signature says a lot, too.

Signatures are highly personal and a little different to analyze than handwriting.

• If you have a legible signature, it means you are a conformist and have no issues abiding by the rules.
• A flourishing or illegible signature could be rebellion, intelligence (think the clichéd handwriting of doctors), or creativity.

That being said, what comes into play here is how many times in the course of a normal day does a person need to sign something? People who regularly sign documents tend to develop a quick and simple signature.

Can your handwriting help you land a job?

There are times when job interviews add in a handwritten task, or give you what seems to be a frivolous form to fill, when they already have all your information on a digital file. The idea behind this is for them to use a graphologist or handwriting expert to further help them find the perfect candidate for the job.

For example, someone who writes a fast cursive is often thought to be great at communication, so may be the perfect fit for interpersonal, sales, and marketing jobs. On the other hand, someone who writes with small letters may be more methodical, and more suited to a creative, think tank position.

Of course, all these tests do not surpass your qualifications, but in case you are heading for a job interview for a particular position, it may help to know the kind of handwriting the experts are looking for to ensure you cinch it.

One of our readers, Rachel Schwann, had an interesting anecdote to share with us:

I recently interviewed at a top firm, way out of my league. The other candidates were sharper, better, and everything I was not, or at least that’s how it seemed to me. I didn’t have high hopes of landing the position. In the final stage of the interview, one of the tasks was to copy a passage onto paper. Somehow, I got the job. Because, I cheated.

Let me explain: I had taken a small course on graphology. The post I was applying for was for a think tank position. I made sure to write in small letters and perfectly spaced my words.

This indicated that I was methodical, had high concentration and organizational skills, and was comfortable working in an isolated scenario too. I was all that, but I made sure my handwriting reflected it as well. I was aware that any writing task meant that they had a handwriting expert onboard, so I simply used it to my advantage.

Is handwriting analysis accurate?

For now, a lack of comprehensive testing means handwriting is not yet an established science. Many experts do use it, and it has seen use in forensic investigation as well.

Other factors like health and mental issues can change your handwriting as well, so you can certainly use it as a guideline. But for now, it’s more of a theory than a proven fact.

Whether handwriting analysis is a true science or not, research says writing something by hand tends to improve cognitive ability and help people with dementia. That is reason enough to write, right?