Handwriting personalities

Apart from the typical Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), western zodiac and other weird fandom personality tests, it’s supposedly also possible to determine your personality just by studying your handwriting. This is also known as graphology.

With reference to experts from the National Pen in the US, we tried a short and fun experiment with our writers in the quest to test how accurate graphology is.

1. Letter size

Let’s begin with the size of your writing. Large writing is supposed to signify that you are outgoing, sociable, people-oriented, and outspoken.

On the other hand, small writing characterises a shy and withdrawn personality.

VERDICT: Nope, Andy begs to differ. He’s a pretty shy guy.

2. Spacing

Writing that is equally spaced out usually denotes that you enjoy your freedom and don’t like to be in crowded places. Conversely, crammed writing means you prefer to be in crowds and are intrusive by nature.

VERDICT: This is true to a certain extent, but Megan isn’t intrusive at all!

3. Pressure

When one writes with heavy pressure, it means that you are one to show commitment in everything that you do. Light pressure writers however are generally more sensitive and empathetic to those around them.

VERDICT: While Chengz’s high-pressure writing shows that she is a committed person, it does not mean that she is any less sensitive to others than those with light-pressure writing.

4. Slanting

How your words are slanted determines your thought process. Writing with no slant denotes that you tend to be logical, practical, and your emotions don’t get in the way too often.

Slanting towards the right means that you are a risk taker, and you are open to new experiences and meeting new people in your life.

Slanting leftwards shows that you prefer to keep to yourself and like to work in the background instead of being in the spotlight. Interestingly, right-handed people who slant left are regarded as rebels.

VERDICT: “THIS IS SPOT ON!” – Vinny.

5. Shape of letters

They can be categorised to three different types: rounded, pointed, and connected.

Rounded letters mean that you are creative and artistic. Pointed ones show that you are inquisitive, intelligent, and intense. Lastly, connected letters infer that you are relatively logical, careful, and systematic.

VERDICT: This makes a lot of sense. Ai Xuan is one who is unlikely to take risks and is very careful about new situations.

6. Loops

Certain loops in some letters have a deeper meaning to them, like ‘l’s and ‘e’s.

For ‘l’s, narrow loops mean that you may feel a bit restricted, or you perceive your hopes and dreams to be a little grim. Wide loops however, say that you are more relaxed than most people.

As for ‘e’s, narrowed loops show that you tend to be skeptical of others, and don’t buy their opinions so easily. Wide looped ‘e’s indicate one who is more open minded.

VERDICT: The explanation for Faizah’s ‘L’s are spot on, but her ‘E’s are way off.

To sum it all up, it’s a pretty fun and cool experiment to find out more about the personality types of your friends just by looking at their handwriting. However, like all personality tests, they should not be an absolute to determine a person’s true character.