I worry about women who meet a man online, then book a ticket and go flying off to wherever he lives to meet him. Or even have him fly in to meet her.

It’s well known that the Internet lets you be whomever you want to be, and although once you have been chatting online for a while you certainly FEEL you know the other person… do you really? Is s/he really who they say they are?

There is one way to find out ahead of time, but in this world of electronic communication, may take a little bit of ingenuity on your part.

It is Handwriting Analysis.

If you can get a sample of his/her writing, you can know who they are as a person, what dangers or delights await you upon a closer relationship. Further down I’ll talk about how to get the writing in the first place, but for now, lets look at what his/her writing can tell you.

One thing most people want to know right away is: Is this person honest?

For this you look at the circle letters (a, o, and circle parts of g and d.) A “clean” circle is honesty. A clean circle is one with no loops, hooks or other stuff inside the circle. There are various things that can appear in the circles, too many to go into here, but if loops on both the left and right sides of the circles appear repeatedly, (I repeat: it has be appear repeatedly) circle letter after circle letter, this is an indication of intentional deceit.

Another thing you might want to know pretty soon is: Does this person have a violent temper?

There are a couple of things to look for here, even just as a casual scrutiny. A t-bar to the right of the t-stem is temper. The farther to the right and the heavier it is, the more the temper. Add to that if it is down-slanting, indicating a desire to take control, and if the writing as a whole is heavy and slants strongly to the right showing strong expression of emotion, you have someone who will not only get mad, but will express how s/he feels to the extreme, while endeavoring to take control.

This could be a safely issue for a woman recipient of this behavior.

That’s just a couple of things to look out for, but as you can gather, there is a great deal more that you can find out from writing. In fact, you can find out the entire character and personal qualities of the writer.

But how to get the writing in the first place? Well, that depends on how well you think the idea of analyzing both of your writing for compatibility would be received. If you think this would be agreeable to your Internet Date, then go for it. Just ask for a writing sample and get both of your writings together and either analyze it yourself from a book, or have it done professionally. It’s one of the best ways to understand each other and promote a great relationship.

If not, you could always indicate that you would like a “real” birthday, Christmas, Valentine, Easter, Thanksgiving ….. card as opposed to an electronic one.

It may seem awkward, and indeed I wish I could think of an easier way to get a writing sample for Internet Daters, but I also believe whole heartedly that it is worth the effort to keep you safe. It can also save your from a pretty miserable weekend with the wrong person, even if there was no danger implied, but my concern in more for safety.

If you meet, or have already met this person it doesn’t mean you will immediately see what their writing shows. After all, someone either dishonest or with a violent temper is unlikely to put much effort into revealing that to you. On the contrary, they probably will put a great deal of effort into NOT revealing it to you, and you may not find out for quite a while.

But if it is part of their personality it will show up sooner or later – why now find out about it sooner?

The up side of this is that if you are right for each other, this will show too, and you will know that going ahead is a great idea, and that you have terrific potential as a couple – information that can carry you through the separation that online dating inevitably involves.

I wish you good luck with your online date and I encourage you once again to “get it in writing!”