This Week >> 9/04/2008
Polly Platt, author of French or Foe? gives listeners tips on dealing with the French, including the "Six Codes" and "Magic Words" and then she takes us "into the bedroom" with lessons on how to be seduissante. Kyle Monson, associate editor of PC Magazine, discusses the magazine's 2008 Top Five Travel Websites you may not know about.
Guests
Consultant, seminar leader, author and public speaker, Polly Platt established her company, Culture Crossings, in 1986. Her seminars and workshops on intercultural management issues and living in France have been enthusiastically attended by over 2,000 corporate executives and, often, their spouses from companies such as Accenture, Air Liquide, Coca Cola, Dassault Falcon Jets, J. P. Morgan, Microsoft, 3M, General Motors, etc. Polly Platt has been profiled in dozens of newspapers such as The International Herald Tribune, the Independent, Le Figaro, L'Express, Paris Match, the Irish Times, and on television programs such as the Nightly Business Report and Europe 2000.
Platt's perennial bestseller, French or Foe?, now in its third edition and 12th printing and translated into French and Japanese, is the reference for executives of Franco-American companies, travelers, and students of French at U.S. universities. Full of real-life anecdotes from executives at Platt's seminars, it had rave reviews across the U.S., the U.K.. and France, plus various television and radio interviews, including one live from Cannes by Bryant Gumble for the TODAY SHOW.
Her latest book, Savoir-Flair, 211 Tips for Enjoying France and the French, was published in August 2000 as a companion to French or Foe? It has been reprinted and firmly established Platt as the American cultural guru for France, as Matt Lauer recognized in May 2001 when he interviewed her live for the TODAY SHOW half way up the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on one of his whirlwind foreign visits.
Platt is an experienced and entertaining speaker at company conventions. She has given the keynote speech at conventions for Andersen Consulting, European Venture Capital Association (EVCA) in Barcelona, Parisbas in Amsterdam, Dassault Falcon Jets in Florida, the American Association of Teachers of French in Saint Louis and others. (See public speaking client list and public speaking testimonials)
A native Philadelphian descended from a French Huguenot who escaped from France to Charleston, S.C., in 1685, she graduated from Wellesley College and was a journalist with the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and the New York Post before moving to Paris in 1967 with her Serbian husband, Alexander Grchich, a high UNESCO official, and their five children.
The Six Codes, including the Magic Words, for dealing with the French:
1. Don't smile!
2. Flirt!
3. Use the Ten Magic Words!
4. Add "Monsieur" or "Madame" after "bonjour," "au revoir," etc.
5. Shake hands!
6. Watch out at the door!
Books: (click on each to read more about them on amazon.com)
To visit Polly's official website, click here
PC Magazine
Kyle Monson is the Associate Editor for www.pcmag.com He oversees and edits PCMag.com's home page and product news coverage, and helps out with site maintenance and editing. He also occasionally takes on feature projects like the Top 100 Web Sites, and writes reviews and news stories for the magazine whenever he has time.
Kyle is the Founding Editor of AppScout, a PCMag.com-affiliated blog covering software and Web applications.
Before joining the PC Magazine staff, Kyle wrote for Newsweek and several daily newspapers. He has a BA in Communications (Print Journalism) from Brigham Young University.
About PC Magazine
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