What Your Handwriting Says About You
- Your handwriting says a lot about your personality.
- For example, if you write large letters, it could mean you are people oriented, whereas small letters could mean you are introverted.
- Business Insider spoke to master graphologist, Kathi McKnight, who analyzes handwriting for personality traits, to figure out what these details in your handwriting mean.
Your handwriting reveals much more than you might imagine.
There’s a whole science behind analyzing handwriting for personality traits called graphology, which has been around since the days of Aristotle. Today, it’s used for a variety of purposes, from criminal investigations to understanding your health. Someemployers even use handwriting analysis to screen potential employees for compatibility.
Business Insider talked to master graphologistKathi McKnight about what the seemingly insignificant details in your writing say about you. “Just from analyzing your handwriting, experts can find over 5,000 personality traits,” she says.
McKnight readily admits that the information she provides below is a basic overview, so it won’t apply to everyone in every situation. Yet these factors can show you aspects about yourself that you may not have considered before.
Try writing out a sentence. We suggest: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Then, keep reading to see what your handwriting says about you.
Letters That Don’t Close Properly
Take a peek at how you write the letters “e,””g,” and “a.” Do you leave them slightly open at the top? As Russin says, “People who don’t close off letters properly … are really careless about finishing a job well. It could be that they’re lazy, happy go lucky individuals, or a deeper reason like depression.”
Unique Signature: You Have Very Different Public And Private Lives
If a writer uses a signature that is radically different in style from the rest of their writing, this may indicate that the person has “a public image that contrasts with his or her self-perception,” according to Poizner. Just as their writing appears to come from two separate people, she says, they themselves may feel like they occupy two different selves.
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What Does Handwriting Say About Your Personality
The study of handwriting is known as graphology and has been practiced for hundreds of years. Professional forensic graphologists have worked on many court cases to use handwriting to link suspects with crimes.
Handwriting is particularly important legally in the case of signatures and proving whether signatures are real or forged can be pivotal.
Graphologists also work to verify whether autographs are real or fake.
Some handwriting analysts also study writing samples to determine personality types, and some businesses commission this analysis before hiring new employees.
The method is even sometimes used to help couples see if they are compatible.
What is the link between handwriting and personality?
According to graphologists worldwide, there is very little you cant tell from a persons handwriting.
From physiological conditions like high blood pressure and schizophrenia to personality traits like dominance and aggression: if you can write by hand, graphologists can analyze you.
Everything from the size of your letters to how closely you space words can reveal intricate details of your personality.
Here are some of the most common handwriting features you can study and learn more about your personality type:
1. Letter size
In general, the size of your letters can reveal whether you are shy or outgoing.
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2. Word spacing
3. Dotting your is
4. Crossing your Ts
5. Pen pressure
6. Signature
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How Do You Analyze Personality Handwriting
First and foremost, always remember that handwriting interpretation is up to the person doing the interpreting. While there probably is truth to analyzing a persons handwriting, if youre not an expert, dont take your interpretations too seriously. Instead, try graphology to have fun! With that being said, here are some steps you can take to analyze personality handwriting:
Are Your Os Open Or Closed
It might not be something you think about too often, but according to The Pen Warehouse, the way you write your os might say more about your personality than you think. If your os are usually closed, you probably tend to keep to yourself and are more introverted. If your os are usually open, theres a good chance youre more social and extroverted. Regardless of whether youre an introvert or an extrovert, there are plenty of strengths of both.
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Are Your Letters Pointed Or Rounded
Whether or not your words are rounded or pointed also plays a role in what your handwriting says about you. Pointed letters are a sign of an intelligent person who might be holding back aggression. Rounded letters signal creativity and artistic ability. Dont miss these science-backed ways to boost creative thinking.
How Do You Cross Your Ts
Your ts have a lot to do with what your handwriting says about you, according to handwriting analysis experts. If you cap off your ts with a long cross, youre likely determined and enthusiastic, possibly with stubborn tendencies. If you use a short cross, however, it could be because youre lazy. If you cross you lowercase ts up high, you likely have many goals and aim high. If you cross them low, it could mean its time to raise the bar for yourself low crossers tend to aim low as well.
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Messy Handwriting: Youre Gifted
If your script has been compared to chicken-scratch, take it as a compliment. Many influential artists and thinkers throughout history were known to have borderline-illegible handwriting. Research suggests that this may be a result of the writerâs brain producing thoughts faster than the hand can transcribe them.
Compare Letter And Word Spacing
Next, check out the spacing between the persons words and letters. Are their letters cramped or placed close together? If so, your friend may be introverted or self-conscious. Instead, letters that are widely spaced may mean the person is independent and generous.
Graphologists also analyze the gaps between words. The closer the words are together, the more the writer likes crowds of people. Though other people suggest that when words are further apart, it means thoughts are organized and clearer.
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Contracted Words: You’re Under Pressure
If someone’s writing appears contractedas if it’s being squeezed from both sides like an accordionPoizer says it likely indicates they are feeling “pressurized.” Whether it’s internal or external, she says, the pressure one feels inevitably ends up being placed on their words, resulting in what appears to be compressed handwriting.
Loopy Letters: Youre Emotional

Those graceful loops you sneak into every letter of your writing donât just look prettyâthey may also reveal something about the type of person you are. According to a handwriting analyst, loopy, curly handwriting is a sign of someone whoâs in touch with their emotions and sympathetic toward other people. It could also mean that you follow your intuition.
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Observing The Sizing & Spacing
How You Write Y
The way you write your lowercase letter Y with cursive can give an idea about who you are.
If the loop of your lowercase Y is slender it means that you are picky when it comes to choosing friends.
If the loop is big and broad it means that you have many friends.
On the other hand, if the hook is short it means you are a homebody, but a long hook means that you have wanderlust.
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Check Slanting Of Strokes
When analyzing the handwriting, pay special attention to looped letters such as h, b, or d. Cursive writing, in particular, tends to slant to the right or the left. Heres what the slants mean :
- Right Slant: This slant shows up when someone is excited to write or if theyre energetic and writing quickly. It can also show the writer is confident and assertive.
- Left Slant: This can tell you that the person doesnt want to write or hides their emotions. Some even go as far as to say that those who slant their letters left are not as cooperative as people who slant their words to the right.
- Straight Slant: If the person writes with a vertical slant, they more than likely know how to keep their emotions in check.
Capital Letters That Are Huge
If you write your name with a huge capital letter, you might secretly wish you were famous or at least somewhat recognized. “These are the people you see as bosses at work, CEOs, music celebrities, and movie stars,” Russin says. “The bigger the letters or signature overall, the more that person enjoys being noticed.”So interesting.
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Big Letters: You Have A Big Personality
The size of your handwriting may be a projection of your personality. Big letters that spill outside the lines of a page could mean that youâre an outgoing, friendly person who likes to be around other people. It may also suggest that youâre craving attention. If your handwriting is smaller, a handwriting analyst might say that youâre introverted.
Open Space At The Bottom Of A Or O
While an opening at the top of your letters might mean you’re lazy, an opening at the bottom can be a sign that you struggle with honesty. “You never want to see someones ‘a’s’ and/or ‘os’ open on the bottom,” Rappaport says. It’s an indicator of dishonesty, as well as a tendency to be misleading.
Handwriting traits like these can be mighty revealing, but it’s important to consider other factors as well. Just because you draw little hearts doesn’t mean you have OCD, for example. But it may be a revealing quirk that’s definitely worth looking into.
Images: Pexels
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Typography Psychology: What Does Your Typeface Say About You
Forget handwriting analysis : What does your typeface say about you? I believe a persons font of choice can reflect on her personality in telling ways.
Forget handwriting analysis : What does your typeface say about you?
I believe a persons font of choice can reflect on her personality in telling ways. I bounced this theory off Carol Waldron, a typography professor at the University of Minnesota, who sounded marginally convinced.
In some sense, any time we make a decision from a selection of options, yes, it reflects on personality, she said. I reworded the question a couple of times, hoping to win her over. Wouldnt a Times New Roman personality differ from a Comic Sans personality?
Still, Carol responded with cautious clauses like I suppose so and to some extent.
So heres my case: The evolution of my personality, as reflected by the evolution of my favorite fonts.
So tell me: What does your favorite font say about you?
Movement Space And Form

Writing consists of three things movement, spacing and form. A graphologist studies these variations as they occur in each of these aspects of writing and attaches psychological interpretations to them.
While aspects such as size, slant and loops are examined in handwriting analysis, there are also other considerations, such as: pressure, upper zone, lower zone, middle zone, word spacing, line spacing, page margins, arcade, garland, thread, wavyline just to name a few!
Source:
Graphologists often like to use samples of cursive handwriting to analyse. Cursive writing includes strokes that move upwards and downwards and connect with each other through angles and curves and expresses the emotions of the writer. It is modified according to states of mind and stages of maturity.
Try writing the phrase She sells seashells on the seashore in cursive and then have a look at the following examples. These are some of the various traits that graphologists look for when analysing a sample of writing.
If Your Writing Slants
To the right: You are open to the world around you and like to socialize with other people.
To the left: You generally like to work alone or behind the scenes. If you are right-handed and your handwriting slants to the left, you may be expressing rebellion.
Not at all: You tend to be logical and practical. You are guarded with your emotions.
If Your Loops Are
If Your Ss Are
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How Often Do You Use Punctuation
Life would be pretty confusing without proper punctuation, but when is it too much? If you use excessive punctuation, like several exclamations points or periods, you might be an emotional person, The Pen Warehouse explains. Excessive punctuation use might also be a sign that you have a slightly obsessive personality. Check out these times punctuation completely changes the meaning of a sentence.
What Your Handwriting May Say About You
If you want to get to know someone better, take a quick look at something theyâve written on paper by hand. Graphology, or the art of analyzing someoneâs personality through their handwriting, dates back centuries. Read on if youâre curious to see if your character matches what a handwriting analyst would have to say about you.
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What Your Handwriting Says About You According To Science
- Post category:Personality
Did you know that handwriting reveals over 5.000 character traits? If you want to discover what your handwriting style says about you, read on.
Can the way we write really reveal our personality traits? I remember years ago working for a tyrannical company boss. He had built his firm up from scratch. Everyone was afraid of him. The guy was arrogant and ruthless, but he paid big bucks, so people stuck around. When he signed his name, the first initial was enormous. It was completely out of proportion and overshadowed the other letters. The rest of his name was tiny in comparison. I always thought there must be something revealing to that signature.
So, when it comes to the link between ones handwriting and their personality, what should we be looking for?
At first glance, analysing handwriting can seem like an impossible task. I mean, where do you even start? But if you break it down into sections, it becomes much easier.
Graphology is the study of handwriting. It can predict temperament and decipher personality traits. Therefore, when we write, we give away clues about our identity. For example, the size of the letters, the spaces in-between the words, even those super-sized initials in our signatures.
Here are just ten personality traits associated with handwriting.
Handwriting That Is Suddenly Sloppy
Did you used to have OK handwriting, but now it’s a complete and utter mess? This can point to a developing mental illness, Russin tells me, so be careful. “Have you felt depressed lately or mentally not there, or is it your physical body abilities no longer feel right?” If so, it may be one of the many signs it’s time to talk to a therapist.
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How To Become A Handwriting Expert
Unfortunately, there is no specific degree that allows you to become a handwriting psychology expert. However, there are some things you can do:
- Accept an apprenticeship with a handwriting expert.
- Obtain a science-related college degree.
- Get a forensic examiner certification.
In the end, you dont have to be a professional graphologist to try analyzing your friends and familys handwriting. It just takes a bit of research and the understanding that youre only doing it for fun. Before we go, here are some fun facts that may interest you:
- Studying handwriting is known as graphology, and its very controversial.
- Even non-experts can identify gender from handwriting 70% of the time.
- Analysts look at three key facts: Letterform, Line Form, and Formatting.
- More than 5,000 traits can be shown through handwriting.
What do you think? Be sure to leave a comment before you go!
Original infographic via thepenwarehouse in 2014, content updated September 2021.