I always ask for a brief telephone call first.
One, it helps me know if I can understand them. I have a hearing deficiency that makes aural communication difficult at times. Accents, as sexy as they may be, can be tough.
Two, it also helps me gauge if we’ll be able to initially hit it off as far as having a conversation. Of course, some people are really good at small talk, so this isn’t a fail safe. I’ve had telephone calls with clients that are great to have meetups sour or just become me and the provider in the room silently watching tv between bed sessions after a few hours, but on the whole, I find it helps a lot.