Intercultural Communication Theories and Public Relations Practice

Successful public relations necessarily demands that messages to various stakeholders via selected mediums be culturally acceptable. This dictates that public relations practitioners are sensitive to the social norms and values of their target publics, ensuring their communication conforms to these tenets. This paper explores seminal theories on inter-cultural communication and evaluates their application to public relations practice. This study highlights the need to consider cultural differences and asserts that failure to do so can lead to miscommunication and other potential social and financial costs. Public relations campaigns should therefore be preceded by socio-cultural research in order to be effective and avoid these pitfalls.