Human behaviour is unpredictable and so with time, people
came up with various methods to form a deeper understanding of psychology. One
such method is handwriting analysis also known as “brain writing” or
graphology. After we are taught to write, the way our handwriting develops,
affects our personalities. That is because the pattern of our psychology
expressed in symbols on the page is as unique as DNA. Although appearances can
be deceptive, handwriting stands as the true representation of a person.
“Graphology is built on a scientific method of conclusions
based on common sense, universal concepts, psychological interpretations and
findings from empirical research”, says graphologist Ravindra Junagade. It is
based on the principle that every individual’s handwriting has a character of
its own.
While looking for a career, graphology can be used for
personality assessment in several areas of human activity like the following,
Human resource development — As per the job requirement, a
desired personality profile can be drawn up by the HR department and by
comparing it with the help of handwriting analysis of candidates, suitability
can be ascertained. Also candidates with undesirable traits can be eliminated,
which is helpful in short listing at the initial stage — it saves time and
resources when it comes to interviewing a large number of candidates. It can be
an additional tool to know about the candidate, apart from examining resume,
personal interview and checking of credentials.
On the other hand, newly recruited as well as existing
personnel can be suitably placed as per their aptitude found out from
handwriting. It helps in retaining a person as well as getting maximum efficiency
from him/her. Apart from this compatibility can be gauged from graphology and
compatible individuals can be grouped together to work as a team on a project.
It all boils down to the fact that a person’s positive and
negative traits can be ascertained. While positive traits can be utilised
effectively and further developed, the negative ones can be overcome or reduced
by conscious efforts.
Psychology — Graphology is, in fact, an off-shoot of
psychology. A great deal of grapho-logical analysis is based on psychological
interpretations. It can throw light on the psychological aspects of a person by
revealing his emotional state including depression, self-esteem, frustration,
worry, guilt, trauma, irritability, and temper. Though there are quite a number
of sophisticated techniques in psychology, graphology can be helpful as a
rather inexpensive additional tool. It can identify hidden problem areas, which
can serve for correlating or supporting the findings from other tests.
Apart from that, it can greatly help in convincing a person
about his/her ailment as many individuals suffering from psychological problems
are seldom willing to admit their disorders.
One gets to know their strengths and weaknesses, which can,
in turn, help in taking wiser decisions for personal and professional life. It
can help in improving abilities, attitude and one’s emotional quotient.
But is it all set in stone, so to say? Not quite as one can
change their personality traits by making concomitant changes in handwriting —
a process called grapho-therapy.
Business — Graphology can be used for finding compatibility
in business partners, ensuring honesty and ethical dealings from persons as
well as detecting forgeries / frauds.
Marriage — It can help with better understanding each other
and also find out compatibility in matrimonial proposals.
Police and bankers — Detecting tendencies of lying,
dishonesty, forgery, and criminal mentality.
Teachers — They can identify shy and emotionally-disturbed
or slow learners.
With a degree in hand, graphologists are much vaunted in
various sectors such as psychiatric and counselling centres, career guidance,
personality development, child development, employee recruitment, marriage
compatibility, police department, forensic department, private investigation
centres, businesses, personnel managers, journalists, financial service
providers, law enforcement and investigative agencies, legal professionals,
psychologists, medical practitioners, academics and document examiners. Forensic
department recruits specialise in analysing signatures and handwritings to
detect forgery. “As a professional, one’s desirability to employers increases
if he/she also completes a course in human psychology. Abroad, a professional
graphologist is also needed to deal with psychological disorders”, says
Junagade who has 13 years of experience in the field.
He says, “Though graphology finds its application in many
fields, it is still at a nascent stage in our country and therefore one cannot
make a livelihood entirely out of it. Nevertheless, there is good potential for
its application in the corporate sector, which is still largely untapped.
Learning this technique is also useful for individuals working in HR. However,
it is ideal as a supplementary profession or as a hobby. In the present
scenario, graphology serves as a break from the monotonous activities of one’s
main profession.
“When it comes to courses, there is no government or
university recognition for any of the institutes or courses in India. That said
there are many courses such as Vanguard2 certification and those from the
British Institute of Graphologists. Though they charge a bomb, they ensure
competence by properly training and testing students.
“Some institutes in India have attractively misleading names
and steep fees but no standing in the world. Therefore one has to do some
homework before choosing a coach / institute to learn. Apart from knowledge and
abilities, practising on a number of samples is needed to master this skill.”
By Akanksha Choudhary