Understanding Basic Neuroscience
for Better Communication and
Persuasion Skills
Paola Ricca is certified coach and
professional trainer with 16 years
marketing management experience,
including, at the age of 36, the
coordination of marketing strategies
among 20 countries. She is a specialist
in metacognition and mind maps and
the creator of the FreeNautas method,
which is aimed at enhancing and
maximizing the learning processes.
Paola Ricca
Abstract: This article is intended to help you better un-
derstand how your mind works so that you can effectively
use it to your advantage. If you still dont know anything
about the Triune Brain theory and metacognition, this
article will give you the awareness you need to activate
both your brain hemispheres, to enhance your memory,
and to make the most of your minds potential. You can use
the tips and the working model contained in this article
every time you study, when you want to persuade other
people, and when you speak in front of an audience. By
doing this, you will highlight your skills, being able to
achieve personal satisfaction at work and in life.
Keywords: Attention, Benziger model, brain functioning,
communication, memory, metacognition, mind, mind
maps, neurosciences, persuasion, storytelling, study
methods, triune brain model
1. Introduction
What do learning and communication have in common?
Both processes involve the transfer of a message from one
mind to another. That is why knowing how our mind
works can help us learn more quickly and communicate
more effectively. And that is not all. Today, understanding
the mind means understanding the mechanisms that
underlie emotions and survival reactions. In the next
chapters we will also address these issues, focusing on how
they affect all aspects of learning. At the end of this journey
you will get a better understanding of yourself and of your
interlocutors, and you will also find out the secrets behind
an effective communication and learning strategy.
Overview: We usually consider the mind as the center of
reasoning, calculation, data analysis. In the first section
of this article, we will focus on the minds complex
and specialized systems as a result of our evolutionary
history. Scientists call them the three brains, each with
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 Understanding Basic Neuroscience for Better Communication and Persuasion Skills
different origins and tasks: the reptilian
brain keeps us alive, the paleomammalian
brain is responsible for all the emotions
that bind us together, and the neocortex
organizes our cognitive functions, such
as attention, memory, and planning. This
section focuses also on the two cerebral
hemispheres and their distinct functions:
the left hemisphere is involved in logic,
analytical thinking, and reasoning, while
the right hemisphere is associated with
creativity and synthesis.
We will also find out the role that emo-
tions and instinct of survival play in learning
and communication. We will be able to rec-
ognize the stairs with gates, which connect
the three floors of the House of the Mind
(each floor containing one of the three
brains). These stairs open and close accord-
ing to the emotions (fearanger) and to the
instinct of self-conservation. Why do we use
these stairs? Because they regulate access to
the floors, allowing us to focus on our differ-
ent goals: when our primary objective is sur-
vival, the stairs will keep us on the reptilian
brain floor (the garage), r estricting access
to information and concepts contained in
the neocortex (the attic).
In the second section of the article, we
will examine these basic elements of neu-
roscience, paying particular attention to
Dr. Katherine Benzigers Thinking Styles
Assessment. This model will enable you
to identify the Thinking Style of your in-
terlocutors, so that you can figure out what
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room of the House of the Mind they are in.
Knowing this, you will be able to improve
communication by adapting to the thinking
styles of your target audience. That is why
knowing the basics of neuroscience can
make a difference both in school learning
and in interpersonal relationships at work.
These recent findings on mind can help
you finally reach your full potential and do
your best in every situation.
2. Advantages
Knowing how our mind works is the first
step toward metacognition, that is, toward
identifying our own cognitive style. In this
article, we will focus on the identification of
our own thinking style and that of our in-
terlocutor. There are also other factors that
may contribute to the development of our
cognitive style, making us unique and dif-
ferent even from our closest relatives (this
issue may be addressed in a future book of
this series). Here is why knowing our mind
pattern is important in the learning process.
Advantages for Students
Awareness. First, lets focus on one of the
main advantages at school (or in life):
knowing your own strengths. That means
being aware of how strong your skills are
in a given area.
Effectiveness. If you know your own mind
and you are aware of how it learns best,
you can study faster and better direct your
 Understanding Basic Neuroscience for Better Communication and Persuasion Skills
energies. Many people, for instance, make
limited use of their right hemisphere and
never apply simple techniques involving that
part of the brain (such as mental association)
to enhance their memory. In other words, they
work at half of their potential. On the other
hand, for some of us, making a small drawing
can be enough to activate the right side of the
brain, thus improving our learning ability and
our memory.
The advantage for students is that they
are able to use their skills more effectively,
so that they can spend less time studying
or revising: revision time can be reduced
by up to 50 percent or even more.
Satisfaction. If you use your strengths
(rather than trying to fill the gaps) and bring
out your qualities, you will get good results
in a short time, with a huge impact on your
self-esteem. You will feel capable, positive,
and optimistic. You will be independent and
satisfied with the way you learn. School,
and every learning setting, will become a
positive experience.
Advantages at Work
Make the most of your potential. Whatever
your job is, the challenge you face every day
is communication. First, communicate your-
self, your values, your skills. Then com-
municate your ideas, projects, proposals.
That is why the main advantage of knowing
your mind is to have a good self-awareness:
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this means being able to identify your own
strengths. If you are lucky enough, you have
developed this awareness during the school
years. Otherwise, you will gain it later. In
this case, you will probably have to over-
come some prejudices about yourself, some
convictions formed during the school years,
which make you think you have no talent
for a task. These are often mere prejudices:
it is always worth finding out your strengths,
so that you can communicate them in job
interviews, with a potential customer, or
in the daily interaction with your boss and
colleagues.
Interact with others. The ability to live and
interact with others can make a difference in
your career and in your professional success.
Besides, building positive relationships at
work or on a personal level considerably
affects your own lifestyle: according to many
scholars, this is one of the key ingredients of
the recipe for happiness, of complete personal
satisfaction. Not having a good relationship
with your boss or with your core customers
may make you feel anxious and constantly
under pressure, lowering your performance
level (as we will see later in the article, this
may even prevent you from accessing your
top brain or neocortex). This uneasiness
might also affect your emotional sphere
(neomammalian brain), and even impact
your family life. A better understanding
of how the mind works can help you
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