If you have ever been a teacher or learned NLP you will have at some stage come across a system called 4Mat, it is an excellent across the board learning and training tool.

The 4Mat system is simple with the idea that if you can cater for the different learning styles in your presentation or training session you will not only engage your trainees or listeners you will keep them engaged with your presentation by allowing their brains to follow your information by providing the information in a format that allows their curiosity to both build and be assuaged.

In other words you are going to answer the questions they have as they arise naturally in their minds, leading to maximum memory retention and enjoyment of your training, teaching or presentation session.

Now have you thought about adding this system of presenting to the copywriting or your articles and blog posts?

Your task as a business owner is to understand the problems and challenges of your consumers and to provide answers and solve problems for them. In your online marketing you are setting about establishing yourself as the trusted and respected expert in your field. This information needs to be set out in such a way that it creates immediate and sustained engagement to the average online surfer. This is where the 4Mat system comes in very handy.

No matter how wonderful your information is, if it is not written or presented in a way that engages the reader, listener or watcher the veracity of the information will be completely lost on them. So the article, blog post, video audio or comment will be unsuccessful even though it may hold the very problem solving answers the surfer is looking for.

Writing with engagement in mind has to take into consideration the people you are targeting, their personality types and their reactions to the information and how it is presented. Video is hailed as the be all and end all of engaging media, yet if you have a person with a boring voice or who is really an introvert (I’m thinking of the movie Ferris Beuller as I write this and the teacher who said over and over, “Beuller, Beuller… LOL).

The 4Mat system is aimed at teachers and educators and can provide the insight we need to setting out our information in such a way that we create maximum engagement with our audience. This system maintains that although people use a wide range of learning styles, individuals tend to favour one particular method over another.

Basically 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.

These four methods are…

1. Imaginative Learning – Feeling and watching, seeking personal associations, meaning and involvement.  Imaginative Learners seek personal involvement, meaning and connections in what they learn. They act concretely and reflect on their experience. They need to know why they are learning something. Learning strategies associated with this learning style include listening, speaking, interacting and brainstorming.
2. Analytic Learning – Listening to and thinking about information; seeks facts thinking through ideas, what does the expert think. Analytic Learners seek facts and information, formulate ideas and think through ideas. They favour abstract processing and reflection. They need to focus on what they are learning, on content. Learning strategies that suit this learning style include observing, analysing, classifying and theorising.
3. Common Sense Learning – Thinking and doing. Experimenting, building, creating usability, tinkering. Common Sense Learners learn by doing, experimenting and applying ideas. They gain information by active experimentation and process it abstractly. They need to know how what they learn can be applied. Learning strategies favoured by these learners include experimenting, manipulating, and having a go.
4. Dynamic Learning – Doing, feeling. Seeking hidden possibilities, exploring, learning by trial and error. Dynamic Learners learn by exploring, seeking possibilities, self discovery and trial and error. They like to experiment and test their experiences concretely. They like to apply what they learnt to new situations, to adapt and modify what they learn, to ask “what if?” Dynamic thinkers use strategies such as modifying, adapting, risking and creating.

Another factor that plays a part in how an individual inherently learns is the usage of left and right brain.

* Left brain – Operates best through structure and sequence.
* Right Brain – Comprehends images, seeks patterns.

When the left and right brains are both used during the learning process higher learning and thinking is achieved. There is a greater range and depth of understanding leading to a greater implementation or take up of the new ideas.

The model extends to include a breakdown of

1. How we perceive the information – Take new information in and this scales from THINKING (Conceptualizing) to FEELING (Experience).
2. How we process the information – What is done with the information which scales from DOING (Active or Experimental) to WATCHING(Reflective or Observing).

Why, What, How and What If are the questions you will answer using the 4Mat system and in that order, as you can see from the graphic there are submodalities for each sector and so this is really a 12 stage process.  Once you have grasped the idea this is a simple way to present information as it follows your own natural learning style as well.

The first 3 steps of the cycle are dedicated to winning the attention of your audience and engaging their interest.

Steps 4 to 6 is where you give them the meat of the information and help them build their knowledge of the subject.

In steps 7 through 9 you teach the skills needed for your audience to begin to put the new knowledg into practice.

And in steps 10 to 12 you will actively encourage your audience to put their new skills into practice, extend their knowledge and thereby internalise the  knowledge they have gained.

As way of an example, consider how you could use the 4MAT System on your website.

• Launch your presentation with a “This is why I am giving you this information 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 see this.
• 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 give them an action to complete, this is often where the ‘call to action’ comes in.

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?

Now go back over this article and see how I have used the 4Mat system to plan and execute the layout and progress of the information in it. Recognise it? 4Mat all the way!

The fact is we all use each of the ways to process the information, we just begin at different places and favour one or more over the others, personally I am a Why and What if person, I need the other information too, but if you answer these two I can often figure out the rest on my own or with little help. What is your processing order? Do you know?

© 2010, AnnieInfinite. All rights reserved.

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