A storyteller’s motivating speech would enable Dopamine to flow through our veins. Thus Amygdala which stimulates the flow of Dopamine is indeed the best friend of a storyteller.
Our limbic part of the brain has been inherited from apes and is known as the “Old Brain”.This understands only symbols & signals and has no power for rational thinking.
A couple of noteworthy components are HippoCampus & Amygdala.
Whereas hippocampus stores long term emotional memory for later recall and reflection , Amygdala acts as the thermometer of feelings.
The rational brain is a later addition and helps in rational thinking and hence known as “New Brain”.This is what separates humans from other animals.
The quirky part is that both “Old & “New brain” work in the opposite direction. A high emotional arousal leading to high limbic activity results in low rational state and vice versa.
Knowing these quirks can help us focus on top performance.
The limbic part of our human brain is responsible for all emotions.
A high state of emotional arousal is when performance starts deteriorating out of stress , tension , anxiety.
A basic principle of the human brain suggests that a negative emotion has a far lasting impact than a positive emotion.
Since the limbic brain and rational brain work inversely , in a state of high emotional arousal i.e. negative , effective use of symbols instead of elaborate messaging can go a long way in giving control to the prefrontal cortex as against the linbic brain to reduce the arousal.
This is how great leaders are able to stay calm and use their rational senses when confronted with difficult and emotionally charged situations.
