Incredible Things Your Handwriting Says About You

Your writing can say a lot about you, but it’s not just the words you commit to paper that happen to be telling—it’s the way you write them.

Dr. Annette Poizner describes graphology, or handwriting analysis, as the process of “seeing handwriting as a metaphor.” Working off of the principle that “people are so expressive that they express themselves in virtually everything they do,” otherwise known as projective psychology, graphologists are able to infer certain likely behavioral traits from someone’s handwriting, Dr. Poizner explains.

While Poizner cautions that she typically views handwriting within the scope of a patient’s other modes of expression—such as drawings, jokes, or stories—she nonetheless affirms that one’s way of putting pen to paper can often reveal significant parts of a personality that may otherwise be latent. If, she says, after doing so, the same “behavioral maneuvers” inferred from the handwriting are also found elsewhere in someone’s life, “then you’re probably onto something.” So, before you commit your words to paper again, make sure you know what your handwriting says about you.