The 4MAT System

The 4MAT System is a system you can use to format your presentation and communications to make it understandable to the broadest percentage of the population. In essence it is based on the fact that different listeners want different things from what you’re saying – and until they get what they are listening for they will not feel like they’ve heard what they need to hear. So what are the different types of listeners? Some people want to know Why, some people want to know What, some people want to know How and the rest want to know What If.

More specifically what each group of peoples wants to hear is:

Why? People (Approx 35% of population)
Why people learn best through discussions. They want to discuss the reasons why, specifically so they can find out why something is worth doing. They are unlikely to take action until they’ve explored the reasons for doing so.

What? People (Approx 22% of population)
What people learn best from teaching. They want to be taught the information either verbally or be given it on paper. What people are going to be the most satisfied when they are presented with so much information that they can’t keep up. They are likely to take lots of notes and try to get as much of it down as possible.

How? People (Approx 18% of population)
How people learn best from coaching. They don’t really care about the reasons or the theory – they want to be diving in there and getting their hands dirty. The sooner you have How people doing something and giving them feedback on what they are doing the happier they will be.

What If? People (Approx 25% of population)
What If people learn best from self discovery. Don’t be surprised when What If people, after being given clear instructions, go off and do something completely different. They get great pleasure from changing things around, trying out new ways of doing things and trying to get an answer to the question of “I wonder what would happen if I just tried this… or that… or…?”. What If people are great at considering the consequences of what they are doing and testing the boundaries. You can really engage this way of thinking by speculating about the opportunities to embrace and extend what they have learnt about.

How to Use the 4MAT System

So now you have this new information, but what do you do with it? And why would you want to? You’d want to use this information because you’ll be able to much more effectively communicate your message to the listener. And what you want to do is to play to each of the 4 types of people, because in most audiences you will have a mixture of the different types.

You want to start your communication by sharing the answer for the Why people. Until they get a good reason for listening they unlikely to really engage with what you are saying. Once you have given the Why people an answer you want to start delivering the theory, start the teaching that will make the What people happy. Follow the theory with a chance for the listener to get their hands dirty and you’ll have satisfied the How people in the audience. Finally, you can close your communication with a discussion of the future, the opportunities and the potential and you’ll have very happy What If people.

By structuring your presentation to answer all four questions you will be able to satisfy all of your listeners.

4MAT System in a Sales Presentation

As way of an example, consider how you could use the 4MAT System in a Sales Presentation. This is equally valid if you are selling one-to-one or to a larger group.

• Launch your presentation with a “This is why I have come to talk to you and this is why you would want to know what I can do for you”
• Explain what you can do for them. Go into the details and explain exactly what it is that you are offering.
• Then you want to go into details about how it will work for them. Explain “This is how it can work for you. This is how similar clients have used it to their benefit”. If your product/service allows for you to give them a hands of demo then this is the time to let them touch it.
• Then share with the the potential benefits if they do go ahead and the consequences if they decide not to go ahead.
• Finally you close and ask for the sale.

How could you use The 4MAT System?

The 4MAT System is a powerful system for engaging with an audience. How could you use it to make your communication more powerful?

• Could you use it in your sales presentations?
• Could you use it in the class room?
• Could you use it when trying to persuade your friends/family/staff of a fresh idea?
• Could you use it in your written work?

The potential is huge – start using it and enjoy the results!

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