The Matt Townsend Show

Matt Townsend specializes in energizing and involving audiences with his unique approach to building and maintaining successful relationships. Known as one of America’s top presenters in the field of Human Relations and Development, Matt blends humor and story telling with interactive, real-life solutions that motivate and inspire his listeners.

Latest Episodes:

Income Inequality, Divorce Proof Marriage, Getting Along with People Apr 16, 2018

Show notes

How Corporate America Can Curb Income Inequality and Make More Money (11:24) Wallace J. Hopp, Ph.D., is a Distinguished University Professor at the Ross School of Business located at the University of Michigan. He has been studying work systems in the manufacturing and service sectors for over 30 years. Employees and companies are supposed to work hand in hand to increase productivity in the workplace, increase company earnings, and in bettering the American economy. Just as parents and children both give and take from each other, employees and companies have a special symbiotic relationship. What happens when if the employees or the company only act in their own self-interest? Who is the ultimate loser? Dr. Hopp explains. Divorce Proof your Marriage (1:00:01) James J. Sexton, Esq., is a trial lawyer with two decades of experience negotiating and litigating high-conflict divorces. Author of “If You’re in My Office, It’s Already Too Late”. Love is a beautiful thing, but when things go sideways in a relationship it can get ugly. According to the American Psychological Association around 45% of first marriages end in divorce. James Sexton shares some ideas on how to divorce proof your marriage. Getting Along with People who are Different from You (1:44:59) Nicole Cunningham is a Master Executive Coach with 15 years of coaching and consulting experience. Nicole has dedicated her career to assisting companies, individuals and families in Australia, Malaysia, UK, Singapore, and America to understand, change and improve human behavior and relationships. Nicole is a people whisperer, she has an incomparable understanding of all aspects of human nature and she is the creator of the 12 Psychological Inclinations. She is also the COO of Clarity Point Coaching. Nicole shares some ideas on how to get along with people who are different from you. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:11:24 - How Corporate America Can Curb Income Inequality and Make More Money 01:60:01 - Divorce Proof your Marriage 01:104:59 - Getting Along with People who are Different from You

Anxiety at Work, Amazon Health Care, Risk of Burnout Apr 14, 2018

Show notes

Manage Anxiety at Work (10:54) Julian Humphreys is an ICF-certified executive and leadership coach, located in Toronto, Canada. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Philosophy of Coaching, a bi-annual, peer-reviewed, open access academic journal serving the coaching community. The feeling of stress at work is like a pot on the stove that begins to boil. Everything is going ok until the water boils too high and everything comes flowing out. How can we better manage stress before we reach our boiling point? Julian Humphreys discusses how we can better manage our work stress and anxiety, instead of just wishing it were not there. Amazon Health Care (56:50) J.B. Silvers, PhD, is the John R. Mannix Medical Mutual of Ohio Professor of Health Care Finance and professor of banking and finance at Weatherhead School of Management with a joint appointment in the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Earlier this year, Amazon announced they would be patterning up with different companies to improve healthcare for employees and to lower health care cost. Is this something we should pay attention to? J.B. Silvers. explains how this announcement from Amazon could change the healthcare industry. Engaged Employees are at Risk of Burnout (1:32:44) Julia Moeller, Ph.D., is an assistant professor for educational psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany. She studies emotion and motivation in schools and workplaces. In particular, she is interested in seemingly paradoxical combinations of mixed feelings, that means, co-occurring positive and negative experiences, such as stressful motivation, or motivating anxiety. Employee engagement is a major concern for HR leaders. Year after year, concerned managers and researchers discuss Gallup’s shocking statistic that seven out of 10 U.S. employees report feeling unengaged. Figuring out how to increase employee engagement has been a burning question for companies and consultants across the board. Julia Moeller talks about the study and how we can decreas 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:10:54 - Manage Anxiety at Work 00:56:50 - Amazon Health Care 01:92:44 - Engaged Employees are at Risk of Burnout

Zero Tolerance Policies, Partner Over Your Kids, Screen Cleaning Apr 13, 2018

Show notes

Derek W. Black - Discipline Policies and School Shootings (10:54) Derek Black is a Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. His areas of expertise include education law and policy, constitutional law, civil rights, evidence, and torts. The focus of his current scholarship is the intersection of constitutional law and public education, particularly as it pertains to educational equality and fairness for disadvantaged students. With the rise of school violence, many administrators are taking a no-tolerance policy that in some cases are going too far. Derek Black explains how zero-tolerance policies will do little to stop in school violence. Prioritize Your Partner Over Your Kids (56:50) Raffi Bilek is a family therapist and director of the Baltimore Therapy Center. Raffi Bilek has clinical experience in psychiatric outpatient settings, family therapy institutes, domestic violence units, community service agencies, and private counseling practices. Marriage can be tough. Adding kids to the dynamic can add to the difficulty when parents give more attention to the children than the spouse. Raffi Bilek discusses how you should Prioritize Your Partner Over Your Kids. Screen Cleaning (1:32:44) Jeff Simpson talks about movies and TV helping you find family-friendly options. Today he takes a look back at television shows through the years and answers the question: do they hold up to our high standards of TV today. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:10:54 - Derek W. Black - Discipline Policies and School Shootings 00:56:50 - Prioritize Your Partner Over Your Kids 01:92:44 - Screen Cleaning

Student Perfectionism, Being Alone, Successful Rest Apr 12, 2018

Show notes

More College Students Seem to Be Majoring in Perfectionism (11:07) Thomas Curran, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. His research focuses on perfectionism in young people. “Good won’t get me into med school.” That is what you might be hearing from your high school or college student. Today, social media is creating a world where students might have unrealistic educational and professional ideals---replacing good, with perfectionism. Thomas Curran shares his research into perfectionism. What Early Hermits can Teach us About Being Alone (59:03) Kim Haines-Eitzen is a Professor of Ancient Mediterranean Religions with a specialty in Early Christianity, Early Judaism, and Religion in Late Antiquity at Cornell University. Social media shows us smiling faces surrounded by happy people in beautiful locations. But we all know that is just a moment in time and not a state of living. The time in between those pictures we post can be filled with loneliness. This doesn’t have to be that case as Dr. Kim Haines-Eitzen argues in her article “One isn’t always the loneliest number” Successful People and Rest (1:46:41) Alex Pang, Ph.D., is the founder of the Restful Company and a visiting scholar at Stanford University. He is the author of two books “Rest: Why you get more done when you work less” and “The Distraction Addiction.” What if I told you that you get more done when you work less? Would you believe me? Alex Pang, author of many books including best seller titled “Rest” published a new article “The most successful people make room for rest” and he discusses how we can avoid overworking ourselves and still meet deadlines. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:11:07 - More College Students Seem to Be Majoring in Perfectionism 00:59:03 - What Early Hermits can Teach us About Being Alone 01:106:41 - Successful People and Rest

Happiness Movement, Benefits of a Bromance, Kids and Smartphones Apr 11, 2018

Show notes

Happier?: The History of a Cultural Movement That Aspired to Transform America (12:08) Daniel Horowitz, Ph.D., is the Mary Huggins Gamble Foundation Chair and Professor of American Studies Emeritus at Smith College. In general, we are all trying to be happier. We want to be happy and we want our families and friends to be happy. But are we happier as a society compared to 20 years ago. Daniel Horowitz? the author of “Happier, The History of a Cultural Movement That Aspired to Transform America.” Dr. Horowitz explains the history of positive psychology. Benefits of a Bromance (59:21) Amy Morin is a psychotherapist, college psychology instructor and the author of the bestselling book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. She’s a regular contributor to Forbes, Inc., Psychology Today, and Huffington Post. Amy Morin wrote an article about how men can experience improved life satisfaction by having close male friends otherwise know as a bromance. Amy and Dr. Matt explore the positive elements of a "Bromance." Things I wish I would have done before getting my child a smartphone (1:47:23) Brooke Romney is a freelance writer, speaker, and blogger. There come a point when a parent will have to decide if their kids should have a smartphone. A child with a smartphone can be very convenient for a parent but that phone can lead to many issues. Dr. Matt talks Brooke Romney about an article she wrote about what she should have done before she gave her child a smartphone. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:12:08 - Happier?: The History of a Cultural Movement That Aspired to Transform America 00:59:21 - Benefits of a Bromance 01:107:23 - Things I wish I would have done before getting my child a smartphone

Amazon Health Care, Engaged Employee Burnout, Stress and Diet Apr 10, 2018

Show notes

Amazon Health Care (11:35) J.B. Silvers, Ph.D., is the John R. Mannix Medical Mutual of Ohio Professor of Health Care Finance and professor of banking and finance at Weatherhead School of Management with a joint appointment in the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Earlier this year, Amazon announced they would be patterning up with different companies to improve healthcare for employees and to lower health care cost. Is this something we should pay attention to? J.B. Silvers. explains how this announcement from Amazon could change the healthcare industry. Engaged Employees are at Risk of Burnout (56:38) Julia Moeller, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany. She studies emotion and motivation in schools and workplaces. In particular, she is interested in seemingly paradoxical combinations of mixed feelings, that means, co-occurring positive and negative experiences, such as stressful motivation, or motivating anxiety. Employee engagement is a major concern for HR leaders. Year after year, concerned managers, and researchers discuss Gallup’s shocking statistic that seven out of 10 U.S. employees report feeling unengaged. Figuring out how to increase employee engagement has been a burning question for companies and consultants across the board. Julia Moeller talks about the study and how we can decrease our risk of Burnout. Stress, Nutrition, and Diet (1:44:12) Ron Hager, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Exercise Sciences in the College of Life Sciences at Brigham Young University. His area is expertise is Chronic Disease Prevention. April is Stress Awareness Month and Dr. Hager talks about how our diets impact our level of stress and anxiety. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:11:35 - Amazon Health Care 00:56:38 - Engaged Employees are at Risk of Burnout 01:104:12 - Stress, Nutrition, and Diet

Trade War, Manage Anxiety at Work, Principles of Intuitive Eating Apr 09, 2018

Show notes

Trade War (11:06) Joe Cannon is the CEO of the Fuel Freedom Foundation, former Chairman of the Utah Republican Party, past assistant administrator in the US EPA, and editor of the Deseret News. Joe Cannon talks about President Trump's recent trade moves against China and moving National Guard troops to the Southern border. Manage Anxiety at Work (59:40) Julian Humphreys is an ICF-certified executive and leadership coach, located in Toronto, Canada. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Philosophy of Coaching, a bi-annual, peer-reviewed, open access academic journal serving the coaching community. The feeling of stress at work is like a pot on the stove that begins to boil. Everything is going ok until the water boils too high and everything comes flowing out. How can we better manage stress before we reach our boiling point? Julian Humphreys discusses how we can better manage our work stress and anxiety, instead of just wishing it were not there. Principles of Intuitive Eating (1:45:59) Karen Mangum is a licensed, registered dietitian, seasoned recipe developer, food blogger, and nutrition consultant. She is the author and producer of Inside Karen’s Kitchen, a healthy food blog, where she shares recipes that nourish and heal along with insightful nutrition musings which attempt to sort fact from fiction. Karen is married to Michael and the mother of five almost grown children, including BYU football starting quarterback, Tanner Mangum. Karen Mangum shares her Principles of Intuitive Eating. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:11:06 - Trade War 00:59:40 - Manage Anxiety at Work 01:105:59 - Principles of Intuitive Eating

Internet Rudeness, Successful Parents, Politics Stressing Youth Apr 07, 2018

Show notes

Internet Rudeness (13:25) Mariana Plata is a licensed psychologist from Panama, currently finishing her Master's degree in Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology. She is also a play therapist in training from the Association for Play Therapy (APT), mental health writer and public speaker. We are in the digital era. For information we turn to Google, for communication, we turn to email, and for friends, we turn to social media. Also in this digital era, we have internet trolls, and between Twitter feuds and Facebook rants, rudeness seems to be the new normal. Mariana Plata shares why rudeness is prevalent in our day. Successful Parents (1:00:17) Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio is an author, speaker, leadership consultant, and family therapist. Ken founded GreenGate Leadership® in 2017 after retiring from his role as Vice President, Health a, d Wellness, at Prudential. Experience is the great educator and successful parents have similar attributes and characteristics across generations. In his book “Simple Habits of Exceptional (But Not Perfect) Parents” author Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio shows us what how we can be the best we can be and how we can be exceptional parents. Politics Stressing Youth (1:45:59) Melissa DeJonckheere, Ph.D., is a Research Fellow with the Michigan Mixed Methods Research & Scholarship Program. She recently completed her Ph.D. in Educational Studies at the University of Cincinnati, where she worked on qualitative and mixed methods projects in both the education and health fields. With as divided as it is, the current political climate has been difficult for Americans of all political stripes. The focus has been on adults, yet teens and college-aged Americans are exposed to the same headlines. Are the polarized headlines and political events causing unhealthy levels of stress for our youth? To look into this further Dr. Melissa DeJonckheere shares her research. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:13:25 - Internet Rudeness 01:60:17 - Successful Parents 01:105:59 - Politics Stressing Youth

Suicide and Altitude, Why You Like What You Like, Screen Cleaning Apr 06, 2018

Show notes

Suicide Rates and Altitude (10:55) Brent Michael Kious, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Utah. He practices inpatient adult psychiatry with a focus on the management of severe persistent mental illness. His outpatient practice focuses on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related conditions, and the use of deep brain stimulation for treatment-refractory OCD. Dr. Brent Michael Kious He also works at the University of Utah as an Adjunct Professor in Internal Medicine, Neurology, and Philosophy. A team of scientists from the University of Utah led by Dr. Brent Michael Kious have come to the conclusion that people living at higher altitudes may have an increased risk of suicide. The researchers have a theory as to why this might be the case, along with some recommendations. Dr. Kious explains. Why You Like What You Like (57:27) Tom Vanderbilt is a contributing Editor at Wired (U.K.), Outside, and Artforum and the author of New York Times Best Seller: Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do. Tom Vanderbilt is also the author of You May Also Like: Taste in an Age of Endless Choice. Tom Vanderbilt explains why we like what we like. Jeff Simpson - Screen Cleaning (1:33:46) Jeff Simpson talks about movies and TV helping you find family-friendly options. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:10:55 - Suicide Rates and Altitude 00:57:27 - Why You Like What You Like 01:93:46 - Jeff Simpson - Screen Cleaning

Mental Health and Violence, Metabolism, First Impressions Apr 05, 2018

Show notes

Mental Health and Violence (10:22) Sarah Desmarais is an Associate Professor of Psychology at North Carolina State University. Her current research is focused on evidence-based practices for justice-involved adults with behavioral health needs. In the wake of mass shootings and other tragedies, we frequently hear that mental health treatments could be the solution to preventing further incidents. Sarah Desmarais, a forensic psychologist, and professor of psychology has studied mental illness, violence and mental health treatment at length. She talks about some of the reasons mental health treatment is not going to “cure” violence. Firing Up Your Metabolism (56:10) Claudia Norris is a Nutritional Therapist and Eating Psychology Coach. She is an experienced public speaker and has spoken to CEOs and Senior Managers at London Business School. She Blogs for The Huffington Post and Mum on the Rock. She has written for the National Childbirth Trust and various local papers and magazines. When is the the best time to eat and the role of metabolism in losing and keeping that weight off. Claudia Norris explains. First Impressions Have A Lasting Impact (1:45:45) Vivian Zayas, Ph.D., is an associate professor and the director of undergraduate studies in the department of psychology at Cornell University. You always hear people say to be careful not to judge others. But judging others is actually an innate part of us. When we first meet someone our brains automatically start making judgments about them based on anything we see or gather about them in the first seven seconds. But could the first seven seconds with someone actually determine the rest of your relationship with them? Dr. Vivian Zayas discuss her research on the impact of first impressions on relationships. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:10:22 - Mental Health and Violence 00:56:10 - Firing Up Your Metabolism 01:105:45 - First Impressions Have A Lasting Impact

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