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:

Benefits of Daydreaming, Leadership at Home Sep 10, 2018

Show notes

Benefits of Daydreaming (9:26) Josh Davis, Ph.D., is Director of Research and Lead Professor for the, a coach, and member of the training staff of the NLP Center of New York. Do you have favorite daydreams? As a kid it may have been your pirating adventures on the high seas. Today you might just daydream about taking a family vacation. Or maybe just a nap. Usually daydreaming is discouraged, but our guest today, Dr. Josh Davis, argues that daydreaming has its benefits. Dr. Davis is the author of “Two Awesome Hours” and the Psychology Today article, “How Zoning Out Benefits Your Present and Your Future”. Dr Davis discusses the benefits of daydreaming Leadership at Home (1:01:56) John G. Miller, founder of QBQ, Inc. and author of “Parenting the QBQ Way: How to be an Outstanding Parent and Raise Great Kids Using the Power of Personal Accountability,” says that “Leadership begins in the home.” He joins the show to discuss how leadership in the home can affect the rest of our lives and our children’s lives. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:09:26 - Benefits of Daydreaming 01:61:56 - Leadership at Home

Money and Marriage, What do Customers Want? Sep 06, 2018

Show notes

Prevent Money from Ruining Your Marriage (10:42) Matt Bell is a full-time personal finance writer and speaker, serving as Managing Editor at Sound Mind Investing while speaking at churches, universities, and other venues throughout the country. The holiday season is a great time to reconnect with family and friends, but can also be a stressful one, especially for married couples. It’s no secret that fighting about money puts a huge strain on a relationship. In fact, money issues are so troublesome that people who say they’re experiencing stress in their relationship cite finances as the number one reason. The holiday season doesn’t help with those stresses, but Matt Bell shares ways to prevent money from ruining your marriage. What do Customers Want? (1:03:03) Denise Dahlhoff is the research director of the Wharton School’s Baker Retailing Center where she is responsible for the center’s knowledge creation and dissemination initiatives. Her background is a mix of qualitative and quantitative market and academic research, consulting, publishing, and teaching. One of the more popular topics that we talk about in today’s world is the difference we see between different generations. Between baby boomers, Gen X, and millennials we find big differences, but a few similarities. One similarity that each generation has is the love of holiday season shopping and the spirit of gift giving around Christmas. Denise Dahlhoff discusses her research on how different generations shop differently. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:10:42 - Prevent Money from Ruining Your Marriage 01:63:03 - What do Customers Want?

Unsolicited Advice, Violent Extremism and Moms Sep 05, 2018

Show notes

Why Unsolicited Advice Can Ruin Relationships (13:39) Richard Joelson, Ph.D., has been a clinical social work psychotherapist, educator, and administrator for 46 years. He has practiced social work in various places including Liberia, and has his own private practice in New York. It can be tempting to want to fix everyone’s problems and immediately go into psychoanalyst mode to figure out how you can help them. But sometimes, even with the best intentions, giving advice can do more harm than good. Dr. Joelson author of the book, “Help Me! A Psychotherapist’s Tried-and- True Techniques for a Happier Relationship with Yourself and the People You Love,” teaches us why unsolicited advice can ruin relationships and how we can communicate better. The Most Overlooked Resource in Fighting Violent Extremism? Moms (1:02:55) Daniel Koehler is the director of the German Institute on Radicalization and Deradicalization Studies. He studied religious studies, political sciences and economics at Princeton University and Free University Berlin. He has since conducted risk assessment and deradicalization evaluations of terrorist offenders in prison and trained various U.S. government agencies. He is also a fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism. According to experts on violent extremism, Islamic State recruitment in the United States is reaching record levels. ISIS recruiting efforts have shifted their focus to young adults and even young teenagers. Daniel Koehler believes mothers are an important resource in combating violent extremism. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:13:39 - Why Unsolicited Advice Can Ruin Relationships 01:62:55 - The Most Overlooked Resource in Fighting Violent Extremism? Moms

Poverty Spotlight, Economics & Theology Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

Poverty Stoplight (12:37) Jeff Sheets is currently the Director of the Laycock Center for Creativity and Collaboration here at Brigham Young University. He excels in creating powerful brand touch points through memorable and impactful brand to consumer communication. With more than 3 billion people, half of the world’s population living in poverty and over 1/3 of them living on less than $1.25 a day, poverty is one of the world’s top social-economical concerns. The United States is attributed with 47 million people living on or below the poverty line. Though there is no silver bullet to ending poverty, Brigham Young University students along with prominent non-governmental organization, Fundacion Paraguaya, might have found a catalyst for change. Commonwealth and Covenant: Economics, Politics, and Theologies of Relationality (1:01:13) Marcia Pally, Ph.D., is a Professor at New York University in Multilingual Multicultural Studies and at Fordham University, and is a regular guest professor at Humboldt University’s Theology Faculty. Her research interests are culture, religion, and politics as well as culture and language. Author of Commonwealth and Covenant: Economics, Politics, and Theologies of Relationality. Professor Pally explains how being less selfish would improve politics and public policy. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:12:37 - Poverty Stoplight 01:61:13 - Commonwealth and Covenant: Economics, Politics, and Theologies of Relationality

Magicly Implanted Thoughts, Woodpeckers and Football Sep 03, 2018

Show notes

Magicly Implanted Thoughts (12:47) Jay Olson is a graduate student in psychiatry at McGill University. Olson’s latest study looks at the way contextual factors influence the decisions people make. Jay Olson uses magic tricks to see what choices people will make when faced with difficult decisions. How Woodpeckers Will Save Football (1:03:37) Dr. David Smith has been practicing medicine for 27 years and has spent the last 9 years studying Traumatic Brain injuries. He is a Visiting Research Scientist at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center. He is the President and CEO of Traumatic Brain Injury Innovations LLC, overseeing all their operations. Traumatic Brain injuries (TBI) also known as concussions, are a major cause of death and disability in the United States and contribute to about 30% of all injury deaths. With Will Smiths starring role as a Nigerian Forensic Pathologist, the movie Concussion has brought nationwide attention to the negative effects of TBIs. What can we do to prevent these types of injuries and how can Woodpeckers help? Dr. David Smith with some ideas. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:12:47 - Magicly Implanted Thoughts 01:63:37 - How Woodpeckers Will Save Football

Timeless Habits, Attractiveness Psychology, Screen Cleaning Aug 31, 2018

Show notes

Timeless Habits That Will Change Your Life (15:36) Marcel Schwantes is the founder of Leadership From the Core, a leading provider of servant-leadership development, training, and coaching dedicated to growing exceptional leaders and healthy work cultures. He is an executive coach, leadership trainer, entrepreneur, columnist, speaker, thinker, husband, and father. We live in a constantly changing world. The only constant we do have is that we can always expect trial and hardship to come, but it doesn’t have to be the end of us. We have all hit low points in life that might include divorce, unemployment, loss of a loved, or sickness. Marcel Schwantes explains how we can take these hard parts of life and use them to reinvent ourselves for the better. Why Women Spend so Much Time Getting Ready (1:02:24) Jaclyn Wong, a research assistant at the University of Chicago. Her research interests lie in the gendered patterns of work and family. In addition to this work, she is a research assistant on the National Social Life Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), a nationally representative study of older Americans, and a research assistant at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Center for Survey Research. Jaclyn Wong is here with us this morning to discuss the science and the psychology behind female attractiveness. Screen Cleaning (1:34:06) Jeff Simpson talks about movies and TV, helping you find family-friendly options. Could too many options actually be a bad thing? Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube TV and others have put countless hours of television and movies at our finger tips, but it can be hard to parse through it all. And if you subscribe to them all it can also be expensive. Today Jeff and Cole invite back contributer (and DC Streaming Service Expert) Jacob Gowans and ask the question; if you could only have one streaming service, which would it be? 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:15:36 - Timeless Habits That Will Change Your Life 01:62:24 - Why Women Spend so Much Time Getting Ready 01:94:06 - Screen Cleaning

How to Kill Email Anxiety, Invention of Dating Aug 30, 2018

Show notes

Unsubscribe: How to Kill Email Anxiety (14:38) Jocelyn K. Glei is a writer who’s obsessed with how we can find more creativity and meaning in our daily work. Her latest book called Unsubscribe, a modern guide to killing email anxiety, avoiding distraction, and getting real work done. The average person checks their email 11 times per hour, processes 122 messages a day, and spends 28 percent of their total work week managing their inbox. What was once a powerful and essential tool for doing our daily work has become a near-constant source of frustration, anxiety, and distraction from our work. Jocelyn Glei explains how to manage our emails and declutter our inbox. Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating (59:08) Moira Weigel is a PhD student at Yale University, in Comparative Literature and Film and Media Studies. She earned her BA (summa cum laude) from Harvard University and is the author of Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating, her first book. Men and women used to go out on dates but now seems that it’s all snapchat and tinder. But is that really as awful as it seems? How did we decide what’s appropriate for dating? And how did dating even start? Moira Weigel explains the history of dating. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:14:38 - Unsubscribe: How to Kill Email Anxiety 00:59:08 - Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating

Are GMO's Safe, Laziness as Intelligence Aug 29, 2018

Show notes

Are GMO's Safe? (14:08) Fred Gould, Ph.D., is a University Professor of Entomology and Co-Director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center of North Carolina State University. GMO, or genetically modified organisms, help grow hybrid crops to decrease the chance of crop failure and increase the yield of produce. Many parents are concerned with this seemingly “unnatural” type of food. Are GMO crops actually unsafe to eat? Dr. Gould explains. Being Lazy is a Sign of High Intelligence (1:02:06) Todd McElroy, Ph.D., is a Psychology Professor at Florida Gulf Coast, Dr. McElroy earned his PhD. At University of North Carolina Greensbro. His research is largely focused in the area of Social Judgment and Decision Science. Do you enjoy spending time watching Netflix? Do you prefer the great IN-doors? Well maybe that’s just a sign that you’re smarter than you think. Dr. Todd McElroy conducted a study that suggests being lazy is a sign of high intelligence. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:14:08 - Are GMO's Safe? 01:62:06 - Being Lazy is a Sign of High Intelligence

The Psychology of Baby Names, Kids & Digital Media Aug 28, 2018

Show notes

The Psychology of Baby Names (15:49) Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D., is currently a professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is the author of over 160 refereed articles and book chapters and 16 books. Dr. Whitbourne explains the impact a name can have on a person's life and different factors to keep in mind when choosing a name for a child. How should we teach our kids to use digital media? (57:13) Dr. Jenny Radesky is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan. She earned her MD at Harvard Medical School. She is a developmental behavioral pediatrician focused on low-income urban patient populations. Mobile devices have made our lives incredibly convenient. With a single click you can find out where your kids are, order groceries, or check next week’s weather. But with that convenience comes the danger of losing a sense of reality. That danger is extended to children, so how do you make wise decisions on how your children use digital devices? Dr. Jenny Radesky explains. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:15:49 - The Psychology of Baby Names 00:57:13 - How should we teach our kids to use digital media?

Strong Mothers Strong Sons, Foster Care Crisis Aug 27, 2018

Show notes

Strong Mothers, Strong Sons: Lessons Mothers Need to Raise Extraordinary Men (10:43) Meg Meeker, Ph.D.'s popularity as a speaker on key issues confronting American families has created a strong following across the nation and around the world. She serves as the co-host for Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk radio show, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, certified by The American Board of Pediatrics, and serves on the Advisory Board of The Medical Institute. Dr. Meg Meeker, author of the book “Strong Mothers, Strong Sons”. In this book, Dr. Meeker calls upon thirty years of experience to share the secrets that every mother needs to know in order to strengthen or rebuild a relationship with her son. Foster Care Crisis (1:03:55) Mike Hamblin is the Director of Recruitment at Utah Foster Care Foundation. Utah Foster Care is a private non-profit with a contract with the State of Utah to do all of the recruitment and training for state licensed foster families. As of 2014 there were 415,129 children in foster care in the United States with 39% 5 years old or under. 46% of those 400,000 children are living in a Foster Family Home which means they are living with non-relative caregivers. In 2014 only 238,230 children exited foster care. Many problems exist in the Foster Care system including the overuse of group homes, kids aging out of the system without proper support, and Foster Parents need more support to deal with the many challenges they face in caring for these children. Mike Hamblin discusses the many issues in the foster care system and how we can help. 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:10:43 - Strong Mothers, Strong Sons: Lessons Mothers Need to Raise Extraordinary Men 01:63:55 - Foster Care Crisis

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