Enhance Your Soft Skills Training with Our Self-Publishing Library

Happy World Book Day! Every year on April 23^rd, we celebrate the joys and benefits of reading since the beginning of human communication. Books play a major role in how we connect with others and learn. At CTM, we believe that reading from a young age can translate to adults that are well equipped to enter the workforce. Reading is beneficial to not only children and their development, but also adult and corporate learning. Below we discuss the benefits of reading and how various reading formats can be incorporated into your corporate training.

Benefits of Reading

Reading has countless benefits that pertain to personal and professional development. Reading from childhood to adulthood can contribute to boosting various soft skills. These include:

Stress Management – Studies have shown that people who read for even just six minutes exhibited slower heart rates, less muscle tension, and reduced stress levels. This makes reading a great way to relax while actively engaging it at the same time. When you take time to partake in reading, you are working towards managing your stress in healthier and more productive ways.

Communication Skills – Reading builds on our vocabulary, which allows us to know more words and their meanings while seeing them in context. This improves our communication skills by allowing us to effectively express our thoughts and feelings. It also gives us more knowledge that we can use to back up what we communicate to others. With Communication Skills being a top soft skill that employers look for in 2021, reading definitely proves itself to be a valuable skill builder for the workplace.

Emotional Intelligence – Reading allows us to see things from different perspectives and better understand new thoughts and opinions on anything and everything. This allows the reader to be more empathic and compassionate. Reading also creates opportunities for self-reflection and clarifying values based on the content being read. This can increase self-awareness, another crucial emotional intelligence skill.

Concentration skills – Reading keeps your brain active and engaged, as it helps you practice concentrating on simply the words you are reading and blocking out distractions. Consistent reading helps you strengthen your attention span, helping you focus on tasks more effectively. This can translate to increased productivity in the workplace. Furthermore, various studies have shown that reading consistently can contribute to improved brain function which increases memory retention.

Audiobooks – The Multitask Solution

With our day-to-day lives being more fast-paced than ever, it is common for people to find excuses to not read, such as not having the time due to other responsibilities. Others may prefer taking in information in ways beyond reading words on paper or a screen. This is where audiobooks prove to make taking in information from books more accessible than ever. The audiobook industry has grown exponentially in the last few years and is expected to only grow more. In fact, The market size of the Audiobook Publishing industry in the US has grown 13.3% per year on average between 2016 and 2021. Audiobooks can be a great way to take in content from books when you may not have the time to sit down and fully focus on a physical copy of the content. With audiobooks, those “in between” moments throughout your day – from a commute to doing chores to waiting in line - can be filled with learning something new.

While there is debate over reading with your ears versus your eyes, both definitely have their place in the context of taking in content. Physical books can be easier on the eyes since you aren’t looking at the blue light on a screen, while audiobooks can be better for people with busier schedules who may not always have time to fully immerse themselves in a book. While many people have their preferences, experts generally agree that both regular books and audiobooks are beneficial for comprehending information.

eBooks – Learn Anything in a few clicks

An eBook is simply a book in a digital format that allows you to read it on any electronic device from a computer to a smartphone. With technology advancements happening every day, it is no surprise that an activity as important and enjoyable as reading has also been restructured by the tech industry.

eBooks, like audiobooks, have a variety of benefits, especially for learners. eBooks allow for people to have access to thousands of books with just one small device. Instead of having many paper books in your book bag or shelf, you can keep all your reading materials on one small device (not to mention reduce your environmental impact!). By having an eBook downloaded onto a device like a phone, learners can read anytime, anywhere - making eBooks a highly accessible form of taking in content. Furthermore, eBooks provide content instantaneously. Gone are the days of commuting to the bookstore or waiting for delivery times. A few simple clicks on your device and your eBook is up and ready to read.

Reading for Corporate Training

Incorporating books into your corporate training has many benefits for your participants and your training program as a whole. Books – and their different formats - suit many different learning preferences. The classic paperback or hard cover book works great for people who learn best through reading and writing (they can highlight a physical book and takes notes in the margins!).

People who prefer learning in an auditory format can use audiobooks to retain information. And eBooks are highly convenient and accessible to any learner. Having reading content for your trainees gives them something to reference throughout your program, and also something they can take with them to further review the content once your training workshop is complete. Having a book may inspire them to better their understanding through reading, boosting the retention of your content. Having a tangible (or digital) piece of content that covers the important parts of your training is highly complementary to your workshops.

Become a Published Author Overnight (Seriously) and Boost Your Credibility as a Trainer

You may be wondering where the best place to start is for providing books to your training participants. Our Self-Publishing Library perfectly complements your training materials so you can reap the benefits of incorporating books into your workshops. This is a whole new take on vanity publishing — we provide ghost-written content that matches your soft skills workshops. As an extension to our customizable training materials, which can be edited and re-branded as your own, you can also create eBooks, hardcopy books, and even audiobooks. We provide everything print-ready; you simply insert your name as the author and complete the About the Author section. With our self-publishing library, you also get audiobook versions of each title as read by professional voice talent. Simply record an introduction by you as the author, to make it your own.

This allows you to become a published author overnight. With our training materials and self-publishing library, you are fully prepared to provide engaging and effective corporate training. Our Self-publishing library is not only the ideal add-on to your training, but also an excellent networking tool to boost your credibility in your industry.

Learn more about our Workshop Training Library and Self-Publishing books, or get started on your corporate training with a free course download today.

Posted by Katelyn Roy on April 22, 2021