A handwriting sample reveals who you are at the time of writing. Your mood effects how you write, and as your moods change, so does your script.

Other factors that alter handwriting include drugs, physical illness and preoccupation with unrelated thoughts as you write.

For the graphologist, the only real solution to handwriting variance is to obtain samples written over a extended period of time. This is the true way to get a true personality profile of the writer.

When my clients submit samples, they do it because they want to. They aren't under any pressure. They are in the comfort and security of their own homes and, generally, relaxed. These conditions are ideal, and the handwriting sample submited for analysis is usually a reflection of the writer's true self.

Below is an experiment that helps illustrate how your mood effects your handwriting.


The handwriting samples bleow were taken at intervals of about an hour apart by a friend who was spending the day with her grandson.

  • Sample 1-Start of the day. Her 6 year old grandson is about to arrive and she will watch him for a few hours. This is her normal handwriting.

  • Sample 2- The boy has been with her for an hour. Her baseline is wavy and slants forward, showing her emotions out of control.

  • Sample 3- An hour later she regains her composure, somewhat, the left slant now showing that she is really trying to keep her emotions under control.

  • Sample 4- The end of the day. She has let her emotions get the best of her. The boy will go home and she will settle down. Later, her writing will be as it appeared in sample one, at the beginning of the day.

This experiment illustrates that a handwriting sample reveals how the writer feels at the time of writing. You can see, by the above samples, that the subject's handwriting changed in direct relation to the circumstances under which the sample was taken. The mood factor is important in handwriting analysis. If I had analyzed these 4 samples individually, I would have come up with 4 different analyses of the same person.

This is also an important factor to consider for all of you amateur analysts out there. Try to get as many samples as you can over an extended period of time. It may save you some embarrassment.


Since your moods effect your handwriting, how do you get a fair assessment if your handwriting is analyzed during a job application?

First, the law requires the employee to advise the applicant beforehand that their handwriting will be analyzed. The same is true regarding mandatory drug testing. The applicant must be advised beforehand. This tends to make the applicant calm down and use their best handwriting and usually causes the drug user to walk out.

Second, the handwriting analysis can not be the singular basis in determining if an applicant is hired (or fired); this is discrimination. All other factors of the applicant such as experience, qualifications, education, personality test, and the personnel manager's opinion of verbal interview must come into play before a decision is made. In other words the company can't say "We didn't hire you because we didn't like your handwriting".

If you are too nervous to write normally, you probably won't do well on the other tests either, and possibly, will not get the job. On the other hand, if your handwriting is a little "shaky" but you do well on the other tests you stand a much better chance.

The moral. When applying for a job, relax and be yourself.


During a criminal investigation when I have only one sample to work with, for instance, the Ramsey ransom note. I could determine by the handwriting the mood of the writer at the time of writing. He was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was having bipolar mood swings, and was in a disorganized mental state, which explained his actions on the night of the murder. His handwriting would surely change when he settled down, his drugs wore off, and he returned to more comfortable surroundings. But the handwriting of a man with these problems wouldn't change drastically. There would still be enough matching traits in his "normal" handwriting to prove that he wrote the note.

As promised:

handwriting analysis- part 1
handwriting analysis- part 2
handwriting analysis- part 3
handwriting analysis- part 4
handwriting analysis- part 5