Lesson 31. Section 1. Graphology.
On the contrary, I don't agree at all with people who say graphology is all nonsense. I think that at last it is beginning to be taken serious as a proper science and not as some kind of fairground entertainment.

How did you start to become interested in graphology? I've always been fascinated by people and what the are like, and then one day, I was just looking at a book about different styles of handwriting and I got to thinking that it must all mean something, because we all have a different and individual style of our own. So that's how I began.

What exactly is the connection between the way we write and the way we are? If you think about it, our handwriting, and our doodling too, are all products of our brain, a kind of extensions of ourselves on paper, so consciously or unconsciously, we are giving a kind of computer printout of what we think or feel when we write.

As the brain is where our thoughts and feelings lie, there is every reason to assume that our character is transmitted into our handwriting.

Now I know that a number of European firms have used graphology to evaluate potential employees for some time now, but I believe it's catching on in America, too.

I'm now running my own San Francisco-based consultancy firm which I started a decade ago, and now over 200 firms come to me for advice on would-be employees.

How does it work out then? Do they show you samples of an applicant's handwriting? Yes, most companies nowadays require their new job applicants to provide at least one-page writing sample which is then passed over to me for interpretation.

How long does it take you to analyze a sample? Oh, anything from 3 to 8 hours, depending on the amount of detail required by the client.