D AHEAD.
PACK YOUR SUNSCREEN, FOLKS.
JUSTIN, THANKS.
HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.
>> ARE YOU WANTING TO IMPROVE
YOUR HANDWRITING WHILE WORKING
ON YOUR MEMORY RECALL?
SURPRISINGLY, BOTH THINGS GO
HAND IN HAND.
HERE TO TAKE US THROUGH CHICKEN
SCRATCHES TO PERFECT
PENMANSHIP, HERE'S NIBI ALONG
WITH BECKY AND NANCY TO
DEMONSTRATE JUST HOW WELL THEY
CAN WRITE.
WELCOME BACK TO THE SHOW.
EXPLAIN THIS CONNECTION BETWEEN
HANDWRITING AND MEMORY.
THERE REALLY IS SOMETHING THERE?
>> YES.
THERE WAS A STUDY PERFORMED AT
PRINCETON WHERE THEY FOUND THAT
STUDENTS WHO TOOK NOTES WRITING
WITH THEIR HANDS WERE ABLE TO
DO BETTER IN TESTS THAN THOSE
WHO TYPED ON A LAPTOP, AND THE
REASON FOR THAT IS WHEN YOU
TYPE ON A LAPTOP, YOU CAN TYPE
A LOT FASTER, AND SO YOU REPEAT
WHAT THE PROFESSOR IS, WHEREAS
IF YOU'RE MORE WRITING, YOU'RE
MORE LIKELY TO SUMMARIZE WHAT
HE SAYS IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
>> BACK WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL,
LAPTOPS HAD YET TO BE INVENTED,
SO I WROTE HANDWRITTEN NOTES.
>> AND PASS THEM TO YOUR
FRIENDS.
>> SO YOU HAVE SOME ABSOLUTELY
BEAUTIFUL SAMPLES OF THE TYPE
OF WORK THAT YOU DO ON-LINE.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR COMPANY.
>> SO I DO CALLIGRAPHY AND A
TEACH CALLIGRAPHY CLASSES.
HOWEVER, CALLIGRAPHY IS
DIFFERENT TO HANDWRITING,
BECAUSE YOU CAN BE REALLY BAD
AT HANDWRITING AND STILL MAKE
BEAUTIFUL CALLIGRAPHY AIF I AND
YOU COULD BE REALLY GOOD AT
HANDWRITING AND ALSO MAKE BAD
CALLIGRAPHY.
ONE THING I WOULD SAY THAT
BINDS THE TWO IS PRACTICE.
SO YOU CAN DO A LOT BETTER BY
PRACTICING CALLIGRAPHY, AND
YOUR HANDWRITING WILL IMPROVE
AS YOU PRACTICE.
>> AS PEOPLE PRACTICE THEIR
HANDWRITING, ONE OF THE THINGS
YOU SAY IS THAT GOOD
HANDWRITING ALSO IMPROVES
LITERACY, THE ABILITY TO READ.
WHY IS THAT?
>> FOR INSTANCE, WHEN YOU WERE
A KID LEARNING TO SPELL, YOU
MIGHT BE LEARNING TO SPELL THE
WORD CAT.
IF YOU SPELL OUT THE WORD CAT
ON COMPUTER, YOU'RE NOT
FEELING-TYPE APPROXIMATE SO
YOU'RE USING TWO SENSES BY
HANDWRITING IT, SO YOU'RE GOING
TO LEARN A LOT FASTER THAN IT
WOULD IF YOU'RE ONLY USING YOUR
EYES.
>> AND COGNITIVE IS ANOTHER
PART OF THE EQUATION.
>> THEY ANALYZED PEOPLE WITH
WIRES AND THEY SAW THAT THEIR
BRAINS WERE MORE ACTIVE WHEN
THEY WERE WRITING VIRUS --
VERSUS WHEN THEY WERE TYPING.
SO WRITING EXERCISES YOUR BRAIN.
SO IF YOU WANT TO STAY WITH IT,
HANDWRITING IS A GOOD WAY.
>> SO LET'S EXERCISE, THEN.
WHAT ARE NANCY AND BECKY GOING
TO BE EXERCISING?
>> I'M GOING TO LOOK AT FIVE
WAYS TO MAKE YOUR HANDWRITING A
LOT MORE LEGIBLE AND BEAUTIFUL.
THESE GUYS ARE GOING TO SHOW
YOU SOME DIFFERENT EXERCISES
THAT I TEACH IN MY CLASS.
THE FIRST THING I WOULD SAY IS
WHEN YOU'RE WRITING, YOU WANT
TO BE COMFORTABLE WHEN YOU
WRITE, SO INSTEAD OF WRITING
WITH YOUR WRIST, YOU WRITE WITH
YOUR WHOLE ARM SO, EVEN IF YOU
RIGHT IN THE AIR, YOU CAN SEE
YOU'RE USING YOUR WRIST, IT'S
REALLY SMALL, BUT WHEN YOU
WRITE WITH YOUR ARM, IT'S
DIFFERENT.
>> IT SOUND CRAZY, LIKE REALLY
GET INTO IT WITH YOUR ARM.
HOW DRAMATIC
>> KIND OF LIKE JUST ENOUGH TO
GIVE YOU CONTROL OVER WHAT YOU
WRIT
YOU CAN'T DO BIG STROKES WHEN
YOU'RE WRITING WITH T-REX ARMS.
>> SO KIND OF LIKE USE THE
WHOLE ARMGET INTO A RHYTHM.
>> BUT THEN YOU WON'T GET
CRAMPS.
>> BUT NANCY IS NOT USING HER
WHOLE ARMS.
HER HANDWRITING IS VERY NICE.
>> SHE WOULD PROBABLY GET HAND
CRAMPS.
>> SHAKE IT OUT.
>> ANOTHER THING I WOULD SAY IS
PRACTICE ON LINED PAPER BECAUSE
A PART OF HANDWRITING THAT CAN
LOOK BAD, IF YOU CAN'T WRITE IN
A STRAIGHT LINE, SO IF YOU
PRACTICE ON RULED LINES IT WILL
HELP A LOT SO, THEY'RE
PRACTICING ON RULED PAPER.
WHAT I LIKE TO DO IS I LIKE
THIS TOOL THAT I USE HERE.
IT'S CALLED A SLIDE WRITER, AND
WHEN YOU TURN IT ON, IT SHOOTS
A LASER BEAM SO YOU CAN
ACTUALLY KEEP WRITING WITH A
STRAIGHT LINE.
YOU JUST MOVE IT DOWN AS YOU
WRITE.
>> YOU'RE SERIOUSLY.
YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A LASER TOOL.
>> WHEN I INVITE PEOPLE, I HAVE
TO WRITE STRAIGHT.
>> WHERE DO YOU GET THIS?
>> AMAZON.COM, LASER WRITER.
>> SO WHAT IS BECKY WORKING ON
HERE?
>> THIS IS THE THIRD STEP,
BASIC SHAPES.
>> HAVE YOU WATCHED THE KARATE
KID, WAX ON, WAX OFF.
YOU WONDER WHAT IN THE WORLD IS
HE DOING, AND THEN IT COMES
TOGETHER.
SAME THING WITH HANDWRITING.
SHE'S WRITING THE BASIC SHAPES
THAT MAKE UP LETTERS.
LETTERS CONSIST OF CIRCLES,
STROKES, LINES AND CURVES, AND
RIGHT NOW SHE'S JUST PRACTICING
THOSE WITH THE AIM OF GETTING
UNIFORMITY IN HER SHAPE.
>> SO IT'S REALLY LIKE GOING
BACK TO BASICS, AND AFTER THESE
BASIC SHAPES ARE TACKLED, YOU
RECOMMEND THAT PEOPLE WRITE
PHRASES LIKE THE LAZY BROWN FOX
JUMPS OVER THE HOUSTON LIFE SET?
>> THEY ARE SENTENCES THAT USE
UP EVERY LETTER OF THE ALPHABET.
WHAT NANCY IS DOING IS SHE'S
PRACTICING HER LETTERS AND
EVENTUALLY SHE'S GOING TO FORM
SENTENCES.
>> I'M GOING TO BE PRACTICING
AFTER THE SHOW TODAY, SO THANK
YOU SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY AND
SHARING YOUR TALENTS WEST.