How often do you find yourself sitting and talking on the telephone, while grabbing a pen or pencil and start doodling? Not necessarily having the artistic ability of Picasso or Van Gogh, you begin to scribble or draw little daisies, clouds, circles or stars on a piece of paper or on the back of a nearby envelope.

Artistic expression and human emotion is portrayed in a variety of mediums. Who would think that a lot can be learned about your character through graphology or graphoanalysis? The study and analysis of all forms of handwriting (graphology) is believed to date back over the last few hundred years. Human psychology plays a major role in the research of graphology and includes psychological analysis, medical diagnosis, business partnerships, marital compatibility, criminal profiling, employment profiling and forensics.

The techniques of graphoanalysis are based on a well-defined, standardized method of identifying strokes, relating these strokes to specific personality traits and evaluating the relative strength of the interrelated traits. For over seventy-seven years, the discipline of graphoanalysis, a scientific system of identifying and assessing the character and personality of an individual through the study of handwriting, has been practiced.

The following observations are basic, collective elements used in graphology and graphoanalysis:

1. The slant

2. The pressure

3. Legibility

4. Letters

5. Connection of letters

6. Space between letters

7. Space between words

8. Space between lines

9. Pace of writing

10. Concealing stroke

11. Direction of lines

12. Symmetry

13. Body Image

14. The Pen in writing

After having my handwriting analyzed several years ago, I asked my examiner, “You said my handwriting told you what about me?” At that time, I knew some of the analytical conclusions were accurate, while there were others that were a little less convincing. Just like any other study, this analysis was a personal interpretation based on some common denominators. Despite my bit of skepticism, I found the art of this investigative approach to understanding the ebb and flow of handwriting quite fascinating.

There are hundreds of books available to better understand techniques, insights and fundamental concepts of handwriting analysis. You will run across some professional organizations who are dedicated to promoting education and training handwriting analysts at all levels of research and experience. Two of those associations are the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation (AHAF) and The International Graphoanlysis Society (IGAS).

As with cooking, writing, painting, playing music, sewing or crocheting, inevitably, the brain sensors trigger one’s creative juices, speaking a unique voice about the individual’s personality, genetic and environmental influences. The telltale signs of your handwriting may be evident through the evaluation of an observant and analytical eye. Why not allow those signs to be revealed to you through your personal penmanship interpretation? You may be surprised to find out what your handwriting “is” or “is not” saying about you.