Handwriting expert spells out his subjects’ character
Analyst also works with police to help identify criminals
For handwriting analyst, Jamie Mason Cohen, the writing is not only on the wall, it’s everywhere.
“Grab a pen and paper and write down this sentence,” said Cohen during an evening at Niagara College’s Welland campus last week. “‘I told you and your purple people eater friend. Take that silly monkey and go back to the darn zoo,’” he said. “And now sign it below that phrase.”
The world-renowned handwriting analyst went on to show students and staff how handwriting reflects their personalities.
“What I’ve learned, people want to be seen, want to be recognized; and this is my gift to help people see themselves in unique ways,” said Cohen on Wednesday. “I help people to discover their strength thorough their handwriting. I help people identify what makes them unique, what makes them special, what their potential is and help them look at that through new eyes.”
Cohen determines what kind of personality people have by looking at their signatures.
If your handwriting goes to right, you are an optimistic person, such as American fashion designer Vera Wang and baseball player Roger Maris. If your capital “I” has long lines on the top and the bottom, you possess selfreliant qualities, as theyj did with Spanish painter Pablo Picasso as well as with martial arts actor Bruce Lee.
A slightly bigger first letter in your signature associates you with former talk show host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, as well as investor and philanthropist Richard Branson.
“Jamie makes you to think out of the box, to frame things that help you grow as an individual,” said college president Dan Patterson, an attendee at the event. “You couldn’t hear a pin drop at the end of what he had to say because it is very powerful.”
Following Cohen’s presentation, Patterson found optimistic and problem-solver qualities in his signature.
Cohen is a certified handwriting analyst and graphotherapist, an international and TED speaker, “How to Spot a Leader in their Handwriting,” No. 1 Amazon best-selling author. Global leaders and business teams ask his assistance to help discover their strengths and weaknesses using graphotherapy, handwriting analysis and different practical strategies.
For over 25 years, Cohen said he has looked at and studied the handwriting of thousands of people.
Howard Cohen, the handwriting analyst’s father, also attended the Niagara College event. He said his son gives him reason to be proud again and again.
“He was a high school teacher for 12 years and he brought to the classroom a different kind of searching,” said Howard. “Several years ago, he submitted a lesson plan with 33,000 other high school teachers from around the world and got voted by TED talks. It was the first time a Canadian has ever been in TED Talks.”
Cohen said he is “so much in love” with what he is doing.
“Handwriting is a science,” said Cohen. “It is a form of psychology that is now backed by studies that shows when we write, it buzzes language acquisition memory – we call it the fluidity thoughts – and makes us smarter.”
According to Cohen, the process of writing starts in our brains. “Your writing paints a picture of what you think.”
Cohen explained the biggest misconceptions people have is comparing handwriting analysis to mind-reading or body language reading.
“I am not analyzing your body language, I am not making this up — I am looking at the strokes and there is a specific pattern that comes through,” said Cohen. “I can look at these tracks and I can tell you the unique puzzle and pattern that makes you the person you are.”
The handwriting analyst also works with police to help identify criminals.
“One trait I’ve seen the criminals have, although not all the time, is the way they write the stroke on their lower ‘g,’” said Cohen. “It looks like a fang, it looks like this weird, strange angle.”
Obviously, not everyone with this writing trait is a criminal, he said. But there are common patterns.
“When I see the writing of serial killers or psychopaths, they have these very strange, one in a million kind of symbols, that they write associative with their names,” said Cohen.
In addition to working with police, presenting to the public and other activities, Cohen is also giving presentations to corporate audiences, helping them build leadership strength through handwriting and empirical data survey.
“When I work with corporations, I make sure we have handwriting analysis, but we also empirical data, that shows how handwriting and their leadership traits can be backed up by data that is statistical.”