What Your Handwriting Actually Says About Your Personality
That illegible scrawl in your Year 10 jotter does genuinely mean something.
Ever wondered if there's any rhyme or reason behind the fact that your handwriting is so unique?
The study of the written word is actually called graphology - and experts have been making all sorts of connections about how a person puts pen to paper and their defining characteristics.
Let's get checking out if a bunch of grown adults can pass a GCSE exam...
Taking into account everything from the overall slant of letters to the speed in which people write; analysts have paired up handwriting samples with over 5000 personality traits.
Size of letters
This is a pretty obvious one. Ever noticed that the most popular person in school had large, loopy letters that were probably dotted with love-hearts and could genuinely have earned them a scholarship on a calligraphy course?
People with large handwriting tend to be outspoken, enjoy attention, and give off an aura of confidence - or at the very least - the appearance of confidence. Those with smaller letters tend to be shyer and more withdrawn characters, but are generally thought to be meticulous workers.
Spacing
It turns out the blank space between words is just as important as the way in which your pen glides across the paper. People who leave wide spaces between their words enjoy freedom and tend to give themselves time to think through an issue before tackling it.
Those who immediately jump on the next word without leaving even 5mm of space are more intrusive personalities, and dislike being left with their own thoughts for too long.
Slanting
Now this is a thorny topic. People with letters that go straight up-and-down are logical, practical, and well-balanced individuals. Those whose handwriting slants to the right are open-minded and thrive in social settings.
On the other hand, people who slope their letters to the left are typically introverts – with experts claiming that the left-slanters are conscientious, guarded with their emotions, and rarely express their true thoughts.
Shape of letters
People in creative fields tend to have rounded letters, while those who write with pointed edges are though to be less artistic - but highly intelligent, curious, intense, and occasionally aggressive. Yikes.
Pressure
A heavier pressure indicates that a person is good with commitment and sticks by their decisions, but this also suggests intensity and is said to be spotted in individuals who take badly to criticism.
On the other hand, those who write with a light pressure are sensitive, empathetic, and generally more adaptable to difficult situations or changes in plans.
Speed
We're pretty sure you can guess what we're going to say about this one. People who write at 50mph are impatient in all aspects of life, and dislike anybody wasting their time. Though fast writing is also associated with intelligence, it's worth mentioning that slow writers are generally considered to be much more organised and methodical workers.
Signature
On to pretty much the only piece of handwriting that anyone ever does in 2018. A signature reflects a great deal about the way a person sees themselves. Those with legible penmanships are confident, assertive, and comfortable in their own skin.
Those with an ineligible scrawl are more private, and dislike sharing their personalities with strangers. It sort of explains why Hollywood stars all have literally enormous signatures, then?
Makes sense.
While we're here, let's get checking out how well a bunch of people know their way around a uterus...