The Oval Office meeting last week between President Trump, Vice-President JD Vance and the person without a suit....oh, yes, the leader of a nation in its third year of war, President Zelensky of Ukraine, conjured up a number of thoughts.

One of those was an email received near the tail-end of last year from business travel management platform TravelPerk. Its subject matter - that most workers would be willing to allow an AI avatar to perform tasks in a meeting on their behalf - seemed rather fanciful at first.

According to the research, just over a quarter of executive leaders would allow an AI avatar to make decisions on their behalf, although 44 per cent worried that it could misrepresent their personality or communication style affecting their career progression.

A huge 91% of UK workers would allow an AI avatar to perform tasks for them. The idea proved particularly popular for those in Gen Z.

UK employees, the research added, would prefer to assign admin-focused tasks to Avatars such as reminding them of deadlines, or scheduling meetings which would enable them to focus on more human interactions.

There was also some openness to letting avatars handle some ‘human’ interactions, such as delivering a presentation (29 per cent) or even conducting an interview (14 per cent).

Notably, executive leadership were more willing to do this than their junior colleagues, with 27 per cent saying they would allow an AI avatar to make decisions for them in a meeting compared to zero per cent of entry level employees. UK employees were also much more reluctant than their international peers to have AI speak on their behalf in a meeting. For example, only 28% of Brits would allow an avatar to answer questions for them - based on pre-set guidelines or historical behaviour -, compared to 44% in the US.

Could this have been the answer for the meeting last Friday? Would an avatar Zelensky and an avatar Trump have had a whale of a time in front of the avatar press corps? Would there have been lost of bonhomie as the avatars stuck to the script? Would they have walked off happily to sign the minerals deal and whatever that means for the future of Ukraine? Maybe an avatar war would be less deadly?

Possibly, but is that the future we really want? Sure, the Oval Office meeting went pearshaped, but it wasn't the first and it wasn't the last. Meetings on serious subjects in politics and the workspace can bring out huge human emotions - sadness, regret, jealousy, frustration. They don't all run smoothly. Items are being discussed, budgets and maybe even futures are being fought over.

That takes human understanding, empathy and intelligence to negotiate and control. Anyway, have you ever heard of an avatar saying that the answer to any problem is to 'put a nice cuppa on'.

So, in an avatar free world, how do we ensure that a meeting does not get out of hand and that those around the table get a fair hearing?

Here a few ideas:
Clearly define the objective of the meeting - Why are you having a meeting? What is the goal?
Set an agenda for the meeting so people know what points are being covered. This way nothing comes as a surprise.
Ensure there is a clear leader of a meeting - someone who will begin the meeting, bring in participants to speak, lead the agenda and ensure that people get a fair chance to talk, ask questions and propose ideas.
The leader also needs to ensure that points are clarified, move the discussion forward and bring it to a conclusion
Finally, how to remain cool in a meeting. One good way of controlling your emotions is to consider beforehand what or who could be the main trigger points. Write down beforehand lines you can say in response to a challenge or an accusation or simply vent your frustration on to that piece of paper before you get in there. Have your own objectives and steer your actions and emotions towards that.

If things get too much in a meeting, then stand up, walk over to the tea or coffee pot and pour yourself a cup. That should steady the nerves.

If not, then, as President Trump said, it will make "great TV!"



So, if an avatar isn't the answer