Home Podcast Joy Qualls: How Pastors Can Be Effective Communicators

Joy Qualls: How Pastors Can Be Effective Communicators

joy qualls

Dr. Joy Qualls is a nationally recognized writer and speaker who currently serves as Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Biola University. Joy writes and speaks on effective communication, leadership and who we are as images bearers of Christ.

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Key Questions for Joy Qualls

-How can pastors use the communication principles you’re talking about to become better preachers?

-Do you have a rule of thumb for the amount of prep time people should take when preparing a talk or a sermon? 

-What are good principles for church leaders communicating on social media? 

-Some pastors are great communicators, but have had moral and leadership failures. How can church members and other church leaders see through really great communication to some of the problems?

Key Quotes From Joy Qualls

“An effective communicator is somebody who understands the five elements of the communication process: who they are as the speaker; who their audience is, which is what most of us miss; what their message is; the channel they’re delivering the message on; and the occasion that has called forth that message.”

“​​Most of us don’t take the time to learn who our audience is and part of the challenge for somebody like me is understanding how to tailor my message for that audience.”

“Here’s the thing that most people miss. You can have the most perfect message. It can be constructed in exactly the way it’s supposed to be constructed, and your audience can even receive it the way they’re supposed to receive it. But God gave us all free will, and they get to choose to reject it, even if it’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be.”

“The way to become a more effective public communicator is to learn to become an effective interpersonal and group communicator. Because when you’re standing in front of an audience, it’s really just you and one other person.”

“Rhetoric is the human use of symbols to induce a response in other human beings. So our communication is inherently human.”

Communication is not information transfer. It’s not a one-way directional thing. It’s a process.”

“The truth is, it’s a miracle that any communication actually happens at all.”