On several occasions, the media have asked me to demonstrate cold reading under 'test conditions'. Let me explain what this means. These tests were organised by television producers, or by journalists working for papers and magazines. With minor variations, the tests were organised as follows:

1. The producer chooses what sort of 'psychic' I am to pose as:  tarot reader, astrologer, clairvoyant, spirit medium or whatever.
2. The producer chooses a 'client' for the reading. They choose someone who professes an 'open mind' about psychics - neither believing nor sceptical.
3. I have no part in this selection, and the client is unknown to me.
4. The client is not pre-conditioned to believe or dis-believe in me.
5. The reading has to be detailed; it must last at least 20 minutes; and it must be more than a 'character' reading - it must also include specifics such as names, dates, places, descriptions and other verifiable information.
6. As soon as the reading is over, I leave and have no further involvement.
7. The client is interviewed and asked for their opinion. There are no leading questions. The client is under no obligation to say anything favourable.
8. In the course of the interview, the client is explicitly asked to consider if I might have been some sort of fake.

The results of these demonstrations are summarised on this page.

"The great tragedy of science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact"
- T. H. Huxley