Writing Like An Adult

As I intend to be an extremely successful individual throughout the course of my life, I frequently study habits and practices of wildly successful people. After all, if you aspire to be like someone, the most logical thing to do would be to study what they did to achieve their goals. I've noticed that even the little things matter when attempting to achieve a massive goal. The way you present yourself to others is paramount when trying to make acquaintances and connections. Of course, appearance is the first criterion which people use to make a judgement call, but it goes deeper than what is on the surface. Seemingly unimportant or insignificant aspects can play a large role in an individual's success. Something as small as a person's handwriting can lead others to make incorrect assumptions.

Penmanship such as that displayed above often evokes thoughts of laziness, carelessness, lack of effort, or incompetence in the workplace. These are never thoughts that you want to run through the head of your potential business partner, employer, or customer. Thankfully, you can better represent yourself and impress people you encounter by putting careful consideration into your writing.

Penmanship such as this exudes ideas of confidence, capability, care, consideration, and cleanliness. Additionally, professionalism is widely associated with proper handwriting practices.

Follow these few simple exercises to improve your handwriting and improve your chances of getting hired into your dream job.

1. Use Quality Writing Utensils. Make sure that your pen or pencil fits your hand properly. If you're trying to write with a pencil sharpened down to within a few inches of the eraser, you are going to have a very hard time keeping control of the tip of your instrument. Additionally, the weight of your pen or pencil makes a difference. Try to choose a pen which will write under the weight of its own body, preferably a fountain tip pen such as the one pictured below. Fountain tip pens provide for better and more consistent ink flow, as well as control of the tip.

2. Hold Your Pen/Pencil Correctly. Be sure that you are holding the pen or pencil properly, with the tip of your forefinger and your thumb, promptly rested in the web of your palm as shown below. This will increase your control over your penmanship as well as reduce the fatigue on your hand from writing.

3. Slow Down. Take time to make sure you are forming each letter correctly. When we are required to write down information, we often times rush ourselves. This causes the legibility and appearance of our writing to diminish drastically. It is imperative to take your time and focus on making each letter a uniform size and shape, as well as paying careful attention to spacing, the slanting of letters, and the straightness of the writing.

4. Practice. Don't be afraid to try out some new fonts and styles of writing. Be sure to practice every day, paying close attention to detail. Only a few minutes per day should be enough to keep you from going back to old writing habits. 

If you are consistent with your practice, soon you will be able to write like this.

While of course calligraphic writing is not appropriate for all circumstances, it is aesthetically pleasing and practical for writing letters or art. Additionally, the practicing of forming beautiful letters can increase the attention paid when casually writing.

So take pride in putting pen to paper, and use it as a tool to show how much you care about your abilities and competencies. Others will notice, and you'll be better off for it.

As always,

Good Fortune and Godspeed

-Mike Knipp