Abstract:

Public relations involve communicating to different stakeholders via media that are culturally acceptable to the publics. This demands that public relations practitioners are sensitive to conform to the social norms and values of their publics. This paper  explores seminal theories on inter-cultural communication and evaluates their application to public relations practice. The study highlights the need to consider cultural differences and asserts that failure to do so may lead to miscommunication and potential social and other costs.  Public relations campaigns should be preceded by socio-cultural research to be successful.