Press Kit
📘 CIVIL@WORK — PRESS KIT
By Virginia McGowan, PhD
Nonfiction | Business | Soft Skills | Workplace Culture
Release Date: July 2025
Available on: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | Kindle | Paperback
📝 1. BOOK OVERVIEW
Civil@Work is a timely and transformative guide to mastering the soft (relational/interpersonal) skills that matter most in today’s AI-integrated, diverse, and remote-hybrid workplaces. Whether you’re a leader, team member, or aspiring professional, this book equips you with actionable strategies to cultivate social/emotional/cultural intelligences, communicate effectively, lead with influence and empathy, and navigate conflict with civility and confidence. With the right relational skills, you can embrace change with an attitude of adaptability and resilience. The evidence is in: Investing in civility training increases employee retention, engagement, and recruitment; improves productivity and efficiency; and can increase profits by up to 30 percent. Soft skills are no longer "nice to have"--they are "must have."
“It’s not just about what you do — it’s about how you do it. Civility is the competitive edge.”
This book is ideal for:
- Emerging leaders and seasoned professionals
- HR teams and talent developers
- Educators, mentors, and career coaches
- University or college students entering the workforce
- Workplace trainers
👩💼 2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Virginia McGowan, PhD is an award-winning nonfiction writer, coach, and soft skills trainer based in Prince Edward Island, Canada. She is a Certified Workplace Relational Skills Practitioner/Trainer with decades of experience working with academics, business leaders, and aspiring authors, she delivers customized , interactive workshops that elevate professional communication and personal impact and is a sought-after public speaker.
She is also the creator of the 90-Day Book Whisperer Program and Civil@Work leadership training experiences, as well as multiple on-line mini-courses and bespoke training solutions.
Website: https://civilatwork.co
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/virginiamcgowanphd
Email: mailto:vmcgowan@civilatwork.co
💬 3. SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
For Media or Podcast Hosts:
- What inspired you to write Civil@Work?
- How do you define “civility” in modern workplaces?
- Why are soft skills more important now than ever — especially with AI on the rise?
- What are the top 3 “uncivil” habits holding people back?
- What is the real cost of uncivil behavior in the workplace?
- What ROI comes from investing in workplace relational skills training?
- How can leaders model emotional intelligence and still be respected?
- Can you share a client success story where these skills made a difference?
🔑 4. KEY MESSAGES & SOUND BITES
- “In a world rushing to automate everything, soft skills are your superpower.”
- “Civility isn't weakness. It's a strategic advantage.”
- “Conflict is inevitable — but combat is optional.”
- “AI can write your emails, but it can’t replace your emotional intelligence.”
- “You don’t have to be perfect — you just have to be civil.”
📰 5. PRESS RELEASE EXCERPT
Civil@Work offers a practical, evidence-based guide to social/emotional/cultural intelligences, communication, and workplace integrity. As AI changes how we work, it’s more important than ever to strengthen how we relate and interact. Author Virginia McGowan, PhD, draws on decades of research, writing, and coaching to deliver a guidebook that’s as timely as it is timeless. Soft skills = solid impacts on the bottom line.
Soft Skills Set the Stage Ablaze: Dr. Virginia McGowan Electrifies bLU Talks with Her Vision for a Civil@Work Revolution
News provided by EIN Presswire
Jul 31, 2025, 1:16 PM ET
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, July 31, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- It was a standing ovation moment as award-winning author, anthropologist, and workplace visionary Dr. Virginia (Ginny) McGowan delivered one of the most compelling bLU Talks of the year at the University of Alberta’s Lister Conference Centre. Her talk, “The Winning Ways of Civil@Work: 5 Steps to Personal and Professional Success,” offered a rallying cry for a workplace renaissance built on respect, inclusion, and human connection.
To purchase copies of McGowan's book, click here: http://bit.ly/40GMGWx...
Navigate to the fox40 website for the full story.
https://buzzpei.com/civilwork-the-ultimate-guide-to-mastering-soft-skills-for-business-success/
Civil@Work: The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Soft Skills for Business Success
Virginia McGowan PhD
July 31, 2025
Island author Virginia McGowan released her book, Civil@Work: The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Soft Skills for Business Success, in July.
In a business world increasingly defined by complexity, change, and automation, one factor is proving more essential than ever: civility. In her new book, Civil@Work, Dr. McGowan, a Certified Workplace Relational Skills Practitioner and Trainer, makes a compelling, evidence-based case for why relational skills must become a core focus for forward-thinking organizations.
Drawing on years of experience as a workplace civility advocate and expert in developmental mentoring, Dr. McGowan explores how everyday incivility is silently costing businesses billions—through disengagement, absenteeism, turnover, and lost productivity. Yet, as she argues, these costs are avoidable when companies prioritize what she calls essential skills: social and cultural intelligences, civility and citizenship, change and continuous learning, collaboration, communication, thinking skills, and adaptability/resilience.
Civil@Work outlines a practical framework for business leaders to foster civility and develop critical interpersonal competencies. With insightful case studies, personal reflections, and interactive thought experiments, the book illustrates how modern leaders—especially those managing multigenerational, multicultural, and geographically distributed teams—can foster trust, inclusion, and innovation.
Imagine a workplace where civility, trust, and respect are the norm...
Sounds Utopian, right? More than half the current workforce would agree with you. This scenario doesn't look at all like where they work, and it's getting worse.
The impact of our unhappiness hits hard at our health, productivity, and profits. We simple MUST change our interpersonal dynamics in the new world of work. Soft (relational, interpersonal) skills make the difference. To learn why and how to master the soft skills that have a solid impact on the bottom line--from a unique, practical, and evidence-informed perspective--contact me for customized training and speaking engagements.