Just remember that "no" is the particle that indicates possession, so you need to show what it's possessing if you use it.

Sore can be used as a subject or object directly:

それを説明して下さい。
Explain that please.

Compared to:

その話を説明して下さい。
Explain that conversation please.

Using "no" to show possession can be used without indicating the possessed word with regular nouns, but not the kono/sono/ano words.

家のドアは大きい。
The house's door is big.
家のは大きい。
The house's is big.

Thank you for actually talking about the post ;)

I find that when speaking about them in isolation I also have to take a split-second to remember which one is which. But after a bit of practice, when actually forming sentences, you'll develop a feeling for it and using the wrong one will sound wrong to your ears so you won't need to think about it.

But both of those examples are pronouns?

what about koitsu ... Germany line?