Be Aware of Cultural Differences
When dealing with media outside the U.S., do your homework before traveling. Talk to colleagues familiar with media in the country you’re traveling to. Talk to your corporate P.R. person if available. Ask about and learn words and actions to stay away from, or to embrace. What is normal in the U.S. can have a negative connotation in another culture. For example, in France, it’s best to avoid the word “collaboration.” It may seem an innocuous, positive word used every day in American schools and businesses. But in France, it is a painful term. Why? During World II, “collaborators” were French citizens who were turncoats. They collaborated with the occupying Nazis, and the word remains a shameful, negative one to this day.
I learned this firsthand from training executives at a major firm with operations in both New York and Paris.