Conversation Gambits - Eric Keller, Sylvia T Warner 1988
55. Analyse your Handwriting
3. Responding Gambits
Many people believe that you can learn a lot about a person if you analyse their handwriting. Whether you believe it or not, if can be great fun.
Work in pairs. One person must agree to be the expert' and work with the information on page 74/5.
The other:
1. Take a piece of paper with NO LINES.
2. Write, in your ordinary handwriting, the following two sentences:
I'm sure that he'll go swimming today.
Tomorrow it'll be too cold for swimming, and then he'll have to go fishing.
Now do the following tests. Only the expert' should lookat the answers.
Test 1
Hold a ruler below the written lines. Are all the words on the line, like this?
a.
or do they go up and down, like this?
b.
The expert decides whether the handwriting matches 1a or 1b, writes it down, reads the interpretation from page 74/5, and recordsit. Each subject accepts or rejects the analysis making use of a gambit. Now. go on to Test 2.
Agreeing
I’m not surprised.
That doesn’t surprise me.
Yes, that sounds like me.
I knew it!
I thought so.
Just what I’ve always thought.
Absolutely!
Disagreeing
You’re joking!
You must be joking!
I don’t believe it!
No, definitely not!
Come on!
I don’t think so.
I don’t think that’s very fair.
Are you pulling my leg?
That’s news to me!
Test 2
Draw a line below a few words in the middle of the sample. Does it go up or down on the page? Estimate which of the lines below corresponds best to your partners slant of writing.
The expert interprets and records the results. The subject responds with a gambit. Continue in this way for each test.
Test 3
Does the hand writing slope to the right, to the left, or is it in-between?
Test 4
Which is the set of parallel lines that fits the small letters?
Test 5
Is there little, some or much space between the lines?
Test 6
Check if the letters are usually connected, sometimes disconnected, or usually disconnected.
Test 7
Look at the m’s in 'swimming':
Test 8
Check how even-sized the letters are:
Agreeing
I’m not surprised.
That doesn’t surprise me.
Yes, that sounds like me.
I knew it!
I thought so.
Just what I’ve always thought.
Absolutely!
Disagreeing
You’re joking!
You must be joking!
I don’t believe it!
No, definitely not!
Come on!
I don’t think so.
I don’t think that’s very fair
Are you pulling my leg?
That’s news to me!
Test 9
Look at the letter'e when it comes at the end of a word What does it generally look like?
Test 10
Check if the letters 'o’ and 'a’ are usually open or closed.
Test 11
Find out how the i’s are dotted most of the time.
Test 12
Compare how the t’s are crossed in most cases
