Is a clue to whether you want to be understood or not

Legible or illegible writing in itself tells us little or nothing about the mentality of the writer. A great many professional men and women, top executives, statesmen, authors, musician and most certainly doctors cians and most certainly doctors (as their prescriptions often show) writer illegibly. Young children attempt to write legibly because their attention is concentrated on forming letters. The desire of the detail-worker (One who gives attention to details) is to be sloppy with detail is to turn out a slipshod piece of work. These people have patience and they are found in the ranks of clerical workers, bookkeepers and often kindergarten teachers. It is not usually in the nature of the detail worker to write an individualized script i.e. to say, different from what they were taught. The mechanical accuracy seen in the handwriting of such people shows an ability to follow a prescribed pattern of thought and action themselves in following the copy book script. These people are rarely leaders, their very desire to following a pattern of writing of writing laid down by someone else is the same desire that makes them followers.

But legible writing doesn’t belong only to detail workers. Other people may be capable of doing detail work of a different sort. A clear thinking scientist, with a direct approach to his research, may write legibly. Handwriting is, after all, a means of communicating with your fellowmen. If you are cooperative and want to be understood you will make the effort to write in such a manner so as to make it easier for them to do so. Writing illegibly is a way of saying: “This is the way I am, try to understand me if you can, if you cannot, too bad.” Illegible writing belongs, first of all, to the uneducated (Illiterate) person. With training, the formations may become more readable, but education does not necessarily result in legible writing. One might be able to express his thoughts with clarity in conversation yet not write legibly. On the other hand, one might be awkward, even inarticulate in conversation yet his handwriting might be quite legible. A nervous person may write illegibly. One should take care that the nervous person’s handwriting is not confused with that of the shrewd or dishonest person.

- Ranadheer Kumar

Graphologist