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Interviewing people in the region is always a bit of a challenge. And the reason for this is because most of the time, they worry about what not to say.
An aspect, unique to the region, is the presence of a public relations (PR) person when conducting interviews with top level management. This is typical in markets where the freedom of the press hasn’t quite reached an international level.
Now while the interviewee is happy to answer any question whatsoever, flung at him, the PR person in the room often jumps in with “we wouldn’t like to comment on this” or “we’d rather not talk about that.”
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In a market which is becoming more transparent each day, it’s a little backward for companies to try and orchestrate the way the media works. Such efforts have never worked for long anywhere in the world and the sooner these methods of operation are abandoned, the better.
A PR person or a company, for that matter, couldn’t do worse than appear to be trying to hide information. Contrary to popular belief, many publications understand the nature of sensitive issues and deal with them quite adequately.
I’ve been ‘told’ several times by PRs not to reveal certain information that has been said to me during the interview sessions. And sometimes I don’t.
Not because I was told not to by a PR person, but because an honest reply can sometimes be misconstrued and used against people who are, most often than not, simply trying to tell the truth.
Many changes are coming about in these times – hopefully company transparency is high up on that agenda.
PS. CW Awards winners will be revealed Thursday morning.
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FEATURED COMMENT
Yes, I certainly agree with you; Company lucidity is very essential.