What is the difference between a "regular" medium and an EVIDENTIAL medium?

There are people, even in my own circle, who scoff at the idea that I am a medium. I know the thoughts and comments that they have because I've heard them before. 

"You could be talking to anyone! How do I really know it's my family member?"

"Anybody could say that the spirit is saying 'I love you' and 'be strong'; how can I believe it's really coming from the spirit?"

That's where being what's called an EVIDENTIAL medium comes in. Just as the title describes, an evidential medium is able to provide EVIDENCE that the spirit we are communicating with is in fact the spirit that you intended to speak with! 

When I first started out, I really had no structure to my readings. I would give messages as they came, without regard to who this spirit even was or how they knew the person getting the reading. Furthermore, I would ask the person getting the reading questions after giving them information. This method is NOT providing evidence! 

So, what makes the difference? What kind of evidence does an evidential medium actually give? 

The way I was taught by my mentor is to first describe the spirit. This description includes as much detail as possible! Only then, after you've said "ah, ah... yes... I think I know who that is!" will I move on to giving some evidence. The evidence will be memories and things that I, as the medium, have absolutely zero knowledge of. These will come to me as images in my mind or words spoken in my mind which I will pass on to the person getting the reading. Very often, they come in images that are symbolic of something meaningful. 

This evidence part is the part that makes an evidential medium very different than other mediums. It isn't until the evidence is provided that I can then pass on any messages- and by then you know without at doubt that the spirit we are connecting with is in fact the one you intended to connect with! 

It seems like a long way to go to get to a few messages, but in the end, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you've made the connection you wanted; makes for a much more personal and deeper session. 

Have you ever experienced a session with an evidential medium or a medium that did not use a method that provided evidence? I would love to hear your experiences!

Find me online at Heather Alfonso Evidential Medium and on Facebook.