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It's all in your hand
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The way you cross your `t' or dot your `i' could say a lot about the kind of person you are.
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— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Keith Rosario with his students at the graphology workshop — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
WHAT IS in a handwriting? Well, everything, if you ask a graphologist.
Graphology is the art and science of analysing human character through the study of graphic movement, such as handwriting, drawings, etc. to gain insights into the mental, physical, and emotional states of the writer. A carefully done graphological analysis, say experts, can reveal traits such as intelligence, attitude, aptitude, temperament, motivational levels, and interpersonal skills. It appears that your entire personality lies concealed in the words you scrawl!
Your handwriting, one is told, keeps pace with the changes in your personality like a faithful echo. The theory behind the relationship between personality and handwriting is that all nervous or muscular movements originate in the brain, and the hand just holds the writing instrument that gives it expression. Graphologists say that handwriting is literally "brainwriting", which, like fingerprints, is unique to a person.
Graphology is becoming increasingly popular in various areas in recent times. It is estimated that 10 per cent of all companies in England use graphology for personnel screening and as many as 80 per cent of French businesses use graphology as a tool for evaluating applications.
An expert in the field right in our own city is Keith Rosario, who has been practising graphology for 28 years, and is a member of the American Association of Professional Graphologists. He conducts workshops for interested people in Bangalore and even has corporate clients such as Philips Software, Siemens, Crompton Greeves, Jet Airways, and Ernst & Young. Of course, a single workshop or a book cannot help you analyse handwriting professionally, but it opens a window to this interesting subject.
Graphologists, Mr. Rosario tells us, look for details such as the tilt of the handwriting, size of the margins, size of the letters, clarity of words, word and line spacing, regularity, pressure, speed, slope of the lines, the degree and type of connection between words, etc. They even look for details such as how you dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s. These signs can help a trained graphologist decipher traits such as emotionality, commitment, concentration, confidence, independence, integrity, sociability, and so on.
Graphologists have interesting things to say about one's signature as well. Your handwriting images your inner self, but your signature represents your public self, they say. If your signature is large, you are saying, "Look at me!" If the letters in your signature are consistent with the ones in your handwriting, your public image is consistent with the person you are. If however, your signature is different from your script, you are intentionally projecting a public image that is different from the real you.
Another interesting branch of graphology is graphotherapy. Here, the therapist tries to influence the personality of an individual by attempting to change his/her handwriting. For example, in the case of a very careless person, the trait would show in perhaps the large size of the handwriting. When this person is asked to form small and neat letters he/she needs to concentrate. This deliberate attempt helps to gradually alter the nature. However, character traits have evolved over decades and we cannot expect overnight results. But Mr. Rosario has not branched out into this area.
But how accurate is a graphological analysis? Says Mr. Rosario: "The written report of a graphologist on a given specimen usually runs to about four or five pages. It describes not only the projected traits of the writer but their degrees as well. I personally hold that my accuracy, on the basis of the feedback I have received, is 95 per cent. The handwriting does not lie. But the skill of the graphologist is important." And many of his clients vouch for that. Shanthi, a software professional, says: "I first read it and found that I was reading something better than an autobiography - got my husband to read it and he recognised almost every bit of it."
But in the age of computers, where the pen is almost in disuse, does the near absence of conventional writing in any way affect graphological analyses?
"No," says Mr. Rosario, "I have analysed handwritings of software engineers - people who write the least - but from the feedback I got, my analyses was pretty accurate." He, however, warns that the analyst should have prior knowledge of the age, sex, and handedness of the writer to avoid misanalysis.
For example, rigid writing may be the sign of a personality trait or may be produced by an age-related infirmity. The precondition for analysis is that the person should be above 18 and be proficient with the Latin script.
Can people cheat on the handwriting test?
"No," says Mr. Rosario. "The writer may try to mask his natural writing, but he will not be able to do it for long. Characteristics of his normal handwriting will show through and the handwriting will gradually move to his/her normal style. This is why, we ask for a large specimen of handwriting to gauge consistency."
You can call Mr. Rosario on 5491325 or on e-mail rosarios@vsnl.com
REHMAT MERCHANT
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
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