EVP recordings - how do you know you're not just hearing what you want to hear?

Been getting into EVP recording seriously for the past few months and I'm genuinely asking this in good faith: how does anyone validate that an EVP recording is actually spirit communication and not just pareidolia or audio feedback? I've made dozens of recordings and I can usually convince myself I'm hearing words, but when I play them to other people they hear something completely different.

Last week I got what I was convinced was a male voice saying 'get out' during a session at an old warehouse in Stockport. Felt quite threatening at the time. Played it to my mate Dave and he heard 'dog food'. Played it to another investigator and she heard something else entirely. So either three different spirits were talking, or I'm hearing what I expect to hear.

Not trying to be dismissive of genuine mediums and people who do serious EVP work - I just want to understand the methodology better. How do you validate your findings? Has anyone on here developed a system for confirming genuine EVP vs audio pareidolia?

how does anyone validate that an EVP recording is actually spirit communication and not just pareidolia or audio feedback?

You don't, which is honest answer. But EVP is more about consistency and context than individual recordings. If you record something that fits the location's history, or answers questions you asked, or multiple people hear the same word independently - that's more compelling than a random voice. The validation comes from pattern, not from single events.

This is exactly why I use digital spectrograms now instead of just listening. You can actually see anomalies in the audio that aren't explainable by standard interference patterns. There's legitimate physics behind it. Also I always record control samples - same location, same equipment, no intention to contact anything. Comparing them shows you what's normal background noise vs genuine anomalies.

Your mate hearing 'dog food' is actually really useful data though - it suggests the recording itself is ambiguous enough that brains can project meaning. The real EVP stuff, in my experience, is less ambiguous. When a spirit's actually trying to communicate it's usually clearer because they're putting proper energy into it. The whispers and mumbles? Probably just you.

Been doing EVP for 20 years and honestly you'll never have 100% scientific proof. But I've got recordings that don't fit any explanation I can think of, and they've helped me learn things about locations I couldn't have known. That's enough for me. The methodology matters more than proving it to skeptics - trust your instincts but also stay humble.