How I prep for video calls

(I’m conducting a workshop on contract writing and finance essentials for creatives in Sep! Find the details at the end of this newsletter.)

Over time, I’ve come up with a video call SOP to give others a good experience meeting with me. Here’s what I do, from setting up the meeting invite to following up after the discussion.

Setting up the meeting

Choose a reasonable meeting time

This matters especially if the person is in a different time zone from you. You don’t want to suggest timings that work for you but happen in the middle of their night.

I use this free Time Zone Converter tool to find reasonable meeting times. Enter everyone’s cities, then use trial and error to hone in on meeting times that could work.

If you don’t know where someone is based, check their LinkedIn profile. They might have listed their location there.

Offer multiple meeting dates and times

Suggest a few meeting dates and times so the other person has alternatives if they cannot make it for any one time.

And list timings in the other person’s time zone if it differs from yours. This way, they don’t have to do mental sums to convert your proposed timings to their time zone.

I know it’s common to let people book time on your calendar with tools like Calendly or Google Calendar’s booking pages, but I don’t attend enough meetings to justify setting one up. (Am I glad about this? Yes.)

Sending the calendar invite

When creating a calendar invite, I use this meeting title format:

[my name] <> [their name]: [meeting topic]

This title indicates:

• Who’s attending
• What the meeting is about

I also list my name before the other person’s. Not because I think I’m super important, but because the other person glances at their calendar, they’ll see my name and be reminded they have a meeting with me.

If their name comes first and the rest of the meeting title is truncated from view, they might have to take the extra step of opening the calendar invite for more context.

Meeting day

Set an alarm

On the day of the meeting, I set a 30-minute alarm to go off before it, so I know it’s coming and can prep.

Prepare for the meeting

Depending on the stakes, I start prepping at least 10 to 15 minutes before the meeting, and sometimes more.

My exact process varies, but I typically:

• Prepare a meeting minutes doc, where I enter the points I want to raise during the meeting. I also use this doc to take notes.
• Update my video conferencing software. Nowadays, video conferencing software doesn’t bug you to update it right before your meeting (Zoom, I’m looking at you). But I’ll do it if I have time.
• Test my camera, speaker and mic, so I know how I’ll look to the other person and that my setup works.

Be on time for the meeting

When it’s about 1 to 2 minutes to the start time, I literally watch the clock. I wait for the minutes digit to change to the correct digit (e.g. from “9” to “0” if my meeting starts at 4:00pm) before entering the meeting room.

Ideally, the other person will also be punctual. If they’re late, my policy is to wait max 10 minutes, keeping an eye on my email or Slack etc in case they reach out to say they need more time to join.

If they don’t turn up, I treat them as a no-show and send an email to ask about rescheduling.

During the meeting

For group calls: mute my mic if I’m not speaking

This is a common courtesy. Video conferencing software is decent at cancelling background noise now, but it doesn’t beat you disabling your mic when you aren’t using it.

Get permission to record the meeting

While taking meeting notes is normally good enough, I sometimes need a verbatim record of what the other person said (e.g. because I want to quote them accurately for a case study).

In this case, I’ll ask upfront if they’re willing to be recorded. Most people don’t object, but I prefer to get their express permission out of courtesy to them.

After the meeting

Send a follow-up email

When the meeting is over, I send an email recapping what we discussed and the next steps. After all, we aren’t meeting for idle chit-chat, but because we want to help something move forward.

—

As I wrote this video call SOP, I realised that providing a good meeting experience largely involves catering to the other person.

By making scheduling convenient for them and by attending punctually to respect their time. And, finally, by being clear about what they’ll get from me (or the other way round) after the meeting is over.

More freelancer news

Childcare leave is increasing

Among the many announcements he made during last week’s National Day Rally, PM Wong shared that:

• Childcare leave will increase from a maximum of 8 days to a maximum of 12 days per parent per year; and that
• The government will cover the full cost of childcare leave instead of having employers bear part of it.

Self-employed persons can currently claim from the government compensation for up to 3 days’ worth of income they lose while on childcare leave. So, now, with the government footing the full bill for childcare leave, self-employed persons will be able to claim compensation for the whole leave entitlement of up to 12 days.

The start date of the increased childcare leave benefits is to be confirmed. In the meantime, learn more details about the changes here (see point 1).

September workshops for freelancers

(The second one is conducted by me 👀)

Taxes, What’s That? A Content Creator’s Workshop on Tax Basics​

If you’re monetising your content creation work, then be prepared that you might be taxed on it, too. :’)

Evelyn Lim, Executive Director – Corporate Tax, BDO Singapore, is conducting a workshop covering how Singapore might tax various types of content creation income and how content creators can manage tax compliance requirements, among other matters.

• Date and time: 5 Sep 2026 (Sat), 10am – 12.30pm
• Location: BDO Singapore, 600 North Bridge Road, #23-01
• Fee: Free, with priority given to VICPA members

​Register for the workshop here.

Protect & Grow: Contract Writing & Finance Essentials for Creatives

This is the LAST workshop on contract writing and financial management I’ll be conducting this year. And this time, it’s for creatives!

Contracts can seem daunting, but it’s possible to write a simple one for your freelance business. During the workshop, you’ll get to try this for yourself.

I’ll also cover how you can set up a system to pay yourself a fixed monthly salary even if your revenue fluctuates month to month. This way, you won’t have to worry about whether you’ll have enough to pay the bills.

• Date and time: 29 Sep 2026 (Tues), 2.30pm – 5pm
• Location: NTUC Centre, Level 8, Room 801, 1 Marina Blvd, Singapore 018989
• Fee: Free for VICPA/NTUC members. $45 for non-members.

​Register for the workshop here.​