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EQ vs IQ Topics: Sizing the Conversation

The fastest way to raise the value of forum time is to match the size of the conversation to the kind of topic. Some forums run a 10 or 12 minute IQ topic in a 40 minute EQ method, and that is not how you get the most value out of forum.

Know Which One Is on the Table

EQ · 30-40 Minutes

The whys. Significant, unresolved, emotionally complex: fears, dreams, doubts, the conversation you are nervous to have.
The things you cannot take to Claude or ChatGPT and get answers on.
Handled as a deep dive: 7-8 minutes of open coaching, 2 minutes of silent reflection, then experience shares.
This is what planned deep dives and your parking lot are for.

IQ · 10-12 Minutes

The what and the how. Sales funnel, job descriptions, comp plans, estate planning, what everybody is doing with AI.
Process, details, facts and figures. AI can already answer most of it.
Handled with lightning rounds, brainstorming, or a topical discussion. 60 seconds each around the room.
Never a 40 minute deep dive, and never the planned deep dive slot.

"A deep dive is EQ: my fears, my dreams, my hopes, the things I am really nervous to talk about. How do I do something, what is the process for something? Take it to your forum, but that is a 10 to 15 minute IQ exercise. Don't spend 45 minutes on process, details, facts and figures."

Colton Mulligan, EO Atlanta Forum Advanced Training, May 2026

Sizing It in the Meeting

Sort as topics surface. At the end of each 5% reflection, ask what goes to the parking lot and what gets nominated for today's impromptu queue. Your parking lot should hold the EQ list.
Run EQ topics as deep dives. Open coach for 7-8 minutes, then silence, then shares. No clarifying-question rounds; that is sneaky advice phrased as a question, and it is what stretches a 40 minute deep dive into an hour fifteen.
Run IQ topics as lightning rounds. "Great, 60 seconds each: what are you actually doing with AI that is meaningful to your business?" In 15 minutes the whole forum walks away with options, and nobody told anybody what to do.
Listen for resonance, not relevance. Experience shares are whatever resonated with you, not an identical situation. If a topic gets so specific that everybody becomes an expert with an opinion, the group is losing value: name it and resize it.

Sources: Created by Colton Mulligan for Forum Playbook. Language drawn from his EO Atlanta Forum Advanced Training (May 2026) and forum chair trainings (May-June 2026).