BY THE LETTER; EXPERT SAYS HOW YOU WRITE OFFERS CLUE TO HOW YOU WORK.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

You are what you write.

Or so says Sheila Lowe, a handwriting analyst for 31 years and one of the nation's most prominent experts in the field.

``Your handwriting always tells the truth,'' Lowe said during a recent interview in her Santa Clarita home. ``Handwriting is projective behavior in that when you write, you bring in all the experiences of your life.''

Lowe's bread-and-butter business is providing companies with personality analysis of prospective hires, derived from several pages of writing samples at rates ranging from $95 to $250. ``What you're doing when you use someone like me is being proactive, looking for someone who'll fit in and avoiding people who may cause problems,'' she explained.

A cosmetic surgeon in Beverly Hills learned that lesson the hard way. He decided to ignore Lowe's advice that another surgeon, despite superb references, might have difficulty controlling his temper.

``I thought his handwriting showed he'd be emotionally immature with probability of throwing tantrums if there was a lot of pressure,'' Lowe recalls. ``So that's what happened and it took nine months and $250,000 to get him out of there.''

Though the field once was scorned by scientists as something akin to fortunetelling and palm reading, handwriting analysis has achieved a respectable profile in recent decades with hundreds of graphologists like Lowe in Southern California. Two organizations - the Chicago-based International Graphoanalysis Society and the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation in San Jose - operate certification-testing programs but there is no licensing agency yet.

``Sheila is one of the best known in this field, where there are a lot of people doing it as a hobby or half-heartedly,'' said Heidi Harralson, head of certification at the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation. ``The ones who do it full time tend to be good marketers because they have to educate everyone. You have to do a lot of convincing that handwriting analysis is a useful tool.''

Typically, the work of graphologists involves extrapolation of whether a person is a good leader or loyal follower, and what kind of self-image, social style, work style and motivations they have.

``The key thing is to see if they will fit into an environment, but I always tell people that my report should not be the sole determining factor in their decision,'' Lowe said. ``I'm always looking for red flags such as someone being extremely sarcastic.''

Lowe's profile rose in recent years when she often commented to the media on O.J. Simpson's handwriting during his criminal and civil trials - ``I can't tell you if he is the killer, but he does have a volatile, explosive personality'' - and on the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. She gives dozens of speeches each year throughout the country and has appeared on CNN and NBC's ``Unsolved Mysteries.''

Cheryl Nichols, who runs an accounting firm in Irvine, hired Lowe four years ago after hearing her on a radio interview. Nichols had decided she needed to improve her ability to find employees who could deal with the stress of tax season.

``I always had a wish list for what I wanted with a new hire but when you read resumes, check references and do the interviews, it's very difficult to get more than name, rank and serial number,'' she said. ``People tend to put their best foot forward in interviews, so what I need is to find people who can manage to not react in negative situations.

``Sheila's been spot-on about her evaluations, which I see as a real proactive tool.''

To meet growing demand for her services, Lowe has been selling her own computer program for the past 18 months through Woodland Hills-based RI Software. ``Sheila Lowe's Professional Handwriting Analyzer'' costs $395 a copy. Sales have enough zip for RI to have published three more versions. The biggest buyers are human-resource specialists and psychotherapists.

She's also negotiating to sign a book deal for a murder mystery involving a graphologist. The title? ``Poison Pen.''

Businesses aren't Lowe's only business. She also works on background investigations for law enforcement agencies, people wondering about romantic entanglements and parents seeking guidance on child rearing.

``When people come to me about relationships, I ask them to include their own handwriting so I can get a sense of what their expectations are because there's usually a problem if they've come to me,'' she says. ``Often, if you know what people's expectations are, you can make the relationship work.''

When she looks at handwriting, Lowe tries to focus both on small details, such as how T's are crossed, and the larger picture. ``I look at the whole arrangement and balance on the page and whether anything stands out,'' she explains. ``The whole process is fairly intuitive.''

Lowe finds layers of revelation based on even a few words. For example, a four-sentence inter-office memo written by Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner produced a five-page report that included measurement of 50 personality categories.

Among her observations:

``Because his own standards are high, Michael finds it extremely disappointing when someone else lets him down or proves less than sincere in their promises.''

``His firm commitment to his own ethical standards makes it a sure thing that Michael can be counted on for reliability and integrity.''

``Without difficult problems to solve or challenges to meet, Michael would soon lose his interest in life.''

``When bad things happen to him, he is able to bounce back from them in a reasonable amount of time.''

``Michael concentrates so keenly on making everything `just right' that he may find it difficult to get a project finished on time. He does not know when to stop improving things.''

``This is not someone who waits for the road to be paved before heading out on it.''

Of course, the memo is over a year old, so Lowe's conclusions may no longer apply. ``As you change your personality, your writing changes in a million ways,'' she said. ``The human brain is such a huge subject.''

WRITE STUFF

Here's what handwriting expert Sheila Lowe has to say about a few prominent people in politics, business and entertainment:

Bill Clinton: A combination of strength and flexibility. He can stand firm and build a consensus.

Hillary Rodham Clinton: She's very independent and prefers to be her own boss.

Michael Eisner: The failure to cross his t's means he is likely to be a visionary.

Elvis Presley: You can tell he was in ill health and depressed.

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Handwriting analyst Sheila Lowe of Santa Clarita examines Disney Chairman Michael Eisner's signature.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News

(2) Hillary Rodham Clinton

(3) Bill Clinton

(4) Michael Eisner

(5) Elvis Presley