I have to agree with this assessment. My accent is actually quite neutral and while traveling outside of USA, it's easily understood by local people in comparis

I have to agree with this assessment. My accent is actually quite neutral and while traveling outside of USA, it's easily understood by local people in comparison to accent from USA, Australia or England. This summer I was traveling in Balkan countries with an American friend from USA, and people had hard time understanding him. I had to chime in lot of time to explain what he is asking for. Also, there were certain words which I think are very specific to American English, but not used outside of USA e.g. crosswalks instead of zebra crossing. This also makes it bit more difficult to understand American accent for those who don't watch lot of American TV shows or movies.