What your writing says about you

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If you must be upstanding regarding issues of life, you need understanding. Many disputes that have led to wars and woes could have been avoided, if either party involved had gone the extra mile of choosing to understand the other at a deeper level and read between the lines to know exactly what was being communicated.

The fact remains as I have always emphasised on this column that only seven per cent of all kinds of communication is verbal. The remaining 93 per cent is non-verbal (body language). This means that if all you rely on is verbal communication alone, then you definitely are missing a whole lot.

The last I checked, there is no injection or vaccination against deception. The only mitigation we have is mastery of non-verbal communication skills. If you must bounce back from any setback in order to take back what you lost way back, you cannot but acquaint yourself with skills in body language.

For a couple of months now we have been discussing one important arm of body language, that is, graphology (handwriting analysis) and its importance in our day-to-day activities. We did mention some parameters we can look out for in handwriting samples and what they mean.

In this edition, we shall go a step further talking about the basics in trait stroke graphology as promised in the last edition. This is to help you assess yourself to find out areas of strength in your personality that can be improved upon as well as those trouble spots that need to be addressed. This skill is also very useful for managers and top executives who need some kind of insight into the personality of their subordinates in order to foster team-bonding.

The environment plays a key role in shaping our behaviour and what represents that environment from the point of view of a handwriting analyst is the paper on which a writer writes. The movement of the pen on a piece of paper is a graphical illustration or description of the personality of the writer. Since two people don’t have exactly the same handwriting, this underscores the importance of handwriting analysis as a good instrument for personality profiling.

Inasmuch as isolated description of traits observed in a handwriting sample is not encouraged, particularly by Gestalt graphology, There are however some traits whose meaning is unambiguous immediately they are found in a handwriting sample, and also with some degree of frequency. Here are some below worthy of note.

1. Anger/Temper

In Graphology, the letters of the alphabet are divided into zones: Upper zone letters, middle zone letters and the lower zone letters. Two examples of the lower zone letters are the letters ‘y’ and ‘g’. From years of research, it has been found out with a considerable validity ratio of >90% that anytime you see in a handwriting sample these angularity in lower zone letters typified in the sharp corners of letters ‘y’ and ‘g’ (examples below), it shows someone who has a very low threshold to anger. Such people may get angry at the slightest provocation and for you as a manager, having this knowledge helps you make an informed decision regarding where to deploy this staff of yours or how to manage his expectations. It is possible for him to express his views perhaps by raising his voice; it does not necessarily mean that he is insolent. A good manager needs to factor all these properly before judging the event. This also applies to you, so that you can better adjust and control how you speak or relate with those who report to you directly.

2. Tenacity

The letter ‘t’ is also a very important alphabet in trait stroke graphology. Apart from the fact that it passes through the three zones (upper, middle and lower), it reveals the level of enthusiasm an individual has and how high or low his goals are set. Since the muscles of the hand plays a role in handwriting, the cross bar drawn horizontally across the vertical stroke of the letter ‘t’ reveals something about the tenacity of the person. If the horizontal stroke is thick and does not thin out at the end of the stroke, it is a strong indication of an individual who is tenacious and does not give up easily on projects. Such people are very strong-willed and get irritated sometimes by people who are lazy.

In the next edition we will look at some other letters of the alphabet and their graphological interpretation(s). Till then, don’t forget that every stroke of the pen says something about a friend.