"Why you should put what you know out there" with Scott Hanselman

[00:02:10] Welcome and Introductions

Andrew Murphy: Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of Tech Leaders Livestream. For those of you who don't know, I'm Andrew Murphy. I've been a technology leader for about 15 years, but now I focus on helping people get better at technology leadership. One of the ways I do that is through this livestream—I like to share the people who I've learned from, the people who've made me being a technology leader, with as many of you as I possibly can.

When I became a leader 15 years ago, there were not the amount of tools and support that we have nowadays. I want to do everything I possibly can to get more resources, thought leadership, more people in front of other people talking about these topics.

This time I have with me Scott Hanselman. Scott, do you want to say hello to the good folks?

Scott Hanselman: Hello to the folks. How are you, sir? Thank you for having me.

Andrew Murphy: Oh, you're very welcome. This is great for me. You're somebody that I've thought about with this topic for a very, very long time. It took me probably 10 years of my career to start doing what we're about to talk about today, and you were one of the pivotal people that kind of helped me through that. So it's great that we can share this with the audience. Do you want to give a quick intro to yourself—Cliff Notes of your career and where you are now?

Scott Hanselman: I'd love to, but before we get deep into it, Andrew, I want to point out that you are coming and going. You're blocky. Your stream doesn't appear to be very stable right now.

Andrew Murphy: Thank you for letting me know that. I will…

Scott Hanselman: I'm confirming that. I've got the YouTube on another screen here. I want to make sure you get the best recording possible.

Andrew Murphy: Thank you, Scott. I'll make sure I kill everything that can be killable while I do that. Do you want to do your intro?

Scott Hanselman: Sure. So, stream is a bit choppy, says our friend Tim. Is the stream choppy for everyone, Tim, or just for Andrew? Want to make sure this isn't a StreamYard issue—or it might be that Andrew is beholden to the speed of light at this point.

Andrew Murphy: And Australian Internet, which is… it’s pretty terrible. Australian Internet is bad.

Scott Hanselman: You want to continue even with the choppy Internet?

Andrew Murphy: Yep, we'll continue. Worst case scenario, we're doing a local recording. I can do an upload. Unfortunately, in Australia we have nationalized broadband infrastructure which has great pros in terms of cost, great cons in terms of reliability.

Scott Hanselman: All right, I apologize. You can edit that part out. I just wanted to make sure that you are successful, sir.

Andrew Murphy: Thank you. Worst case scenario, I can edit this and we'll do a post-edited cut on the Internet. Everything's being recorded locally as well.

Scott Hanselman: Cool. All right. So, my name is Scott Hanselman. I've been a technologist and developer for going on 32 years, currently at Microsoft as a VP of Developer Community. I have a lovely team that works with me to make sure people are successful with whatever technology they're choosing to use. I went to Microsoft to open source everything, so I'm going to keep doing that until I eventually get fired for doing so—but I have a lot of fun.

Andrew Murphy: That's awesome. I was one of those people who was hugely surprised when .NET Core came out open source. That was something I never thought I would see—a core development framework that Microsoft produces being open source. That was incredible.

[00:08:19] Icebreaker: Favorite Non-Computer Tech Gadget

Andrew Murphy: Cool. All right, let's kick off with an icebreaker. Scott, what's your favorite tech gadget that isn't your computer?

Scott Hanselman: That's a tough one. I could show you my office—there's a half dozen of them. Today I picked up this thirty dollar floppy drive. Yesterday I 3D printed a case around it. You can't get floppy drive access on a 5 1/4 inch floppy drive with USB; it uses 12 volt Molex. Then I got another gadget—a molex connector for 12 volts. Then I got a piece of open source hardware called a Grease Weasel. It's a magnetic flux reader using a 40-year-old cable and a brand new 3D printed case. It reads magnetic flux off the disks—I’ve been dumping tracks of 40-year-old floppies I found at a garage sale and uploading them to archive.org. But I could talk about my RetroTink 4K upscaler, my 3D printed Game Boy, if you want to talk about those as well.

Andrew Murphy: How long does it take to get data off one of those? I guess it's a tiny amount of data, but limited.

Scott Hanselman: This is a single-sided, single-density floppy from 1981—about 320 to 360K. The device I'm using, called a flux engine, pulls the data off not as a byte stream, but as an analog frequency. It’s two layers: you don’t just pull bytes off, you take the magnetic flux, then apply file system overlays to determine what it is—Amiga, Commodore, DOS, etc. The actual pull-off time is like a minute, but to decode and figure it out, maybe 20 minutes, depends.

Andrew Murphy: So you don't need to know what it is, you're just taking a raw dump, then you can process it later?

Scott Hanselman: That's a great way to think about it. It's like receiving alien transmissions. You want the raw frequency, then figure out what the language is later.

Andrew Murphy: That makes me think of the Voyager probes and what aliens would need to do if they found our probe—work out how to take raw analog data and understand it sensibly.

[00:13:46] Getting Started Sharing and Early Internet Community

Andrew Murphy: Let's go into the topic for today. You’ve been sharing what you learn and experimenting publicly for a long time. Why did you start doing that? What got you onto that pathway?

Scott Hanselman: To ask is to assume I would know how not to. People talk about personal branding, sharing online, learning in public—it all implies forethought. I don't know why—why wouldn't you? I grew up in a different, safer Internet, not in an underrepresented group, so putting knowledge out there didn’t seem scary. I was on Usenet and Fidonet 35 years ago. When the web came out, I made a website. Registering a domain in the early 90s and putting information out just seemed the right thing. Fidonet, BBSS, Usenet, CompuServe, AOL, GeoCities, blogs, Twitter—these are all just different ways to share what you're doing. Isn't that the point? I guess I just always assumed everyone did that.

Andrew Murphy: Yeah, when I think about my history, back in Usenet, people just posted things all the time. Forums were the way we communicated as nerds. Did you have a local group you were communicating with, or was it a wider audience? How did that journey of gaining notoriety come about?

Scott Hanselman: You start sharing with your group project people in university, then at work in lunch-and-learns, then a local code camp, then a user group, a regional conference, then a national. Think of it in terms of stand-up comedy: you work the small clubs before you have a Netflix special. Fifteen, twenty years ago I went to Scotland, drove up the coast presenting to 30 people; now I’ll keynote the Scottish summit. You work the small rooms—the size of the audience doesn't matter. I think people who jump quickly to keynoting big events miss out on a lot of learning and fun.

Andrew Murphy: Yeah, I started sharing internally, lunch-n-learns and brown bags, before doing it externally. It was a safe space to learn before the “big scary world” of doing it for people I didn’t know.

Scott Hanselman: Exactly. Also, each audience is different—I've learned how to localize a talk, not just by language but by context: power company, insurance agents, doctors. You have to have empathy for your audience. Giving everyone the same talk doesn't work. I learned this as an adjunct professor—every class is different.

Andrew Murphy: Yeah, sometimes you do pre-work to know the audience; sometimes you have to adjust on the fly as you present, which means knowing your material so well you can watch the audience and adjust in real time.

[00:21:01] Audience Q&A: Microphones, AV, and Starting Out

Andrew Murphy: By the way, those watching live, I only have about 10–15 minutes of prepared questions for Scott—I want to turn this into a Q&A quickly. Please put your questions in.

(Comment from Ryan): Any suggestions for a cheap but reliable microphone for video education or vlogs?

Andrew Murphy: My suggestion—honestly, just start with whatever you have. The difference between a $500 and a $3000 mic isn't much; between $25 and $250 is huge. Just get what you can get.

Scott Hanselman: If you search “Hanselman Good Better Best,” I have a blog article on remote worker webcams, ring lights, microphones, etc. If you’re listening to me now, I'm on a $30 headset. Here’s what it sounds like (switches). It's fine! Switch to a fancy mic, you'll get “radio voice.” $30 gets you something, $300 more, but there’s nothing wrong with a basic headset. It’s certainly better than your internet right now, Andrew!

Andrew Murphy: It's good you're thinking about this! Audio is way more important than video for online education. People will forgive imperfect video more than bad audio, so spend your money there.

Scott Hanselman: People buy an expensive mic and then stick it a meter away and wonder why it sounds bad. You have to eat the mic—bring it close for radio voice. It’s not about money, it’s about knowing simple tricks. My “room” is a $300 setup: Ikea Billy shelves, cheap lights, a bit of paint. You can look professional for very little.

Andrew Murphy: I agree. If you’re starting out, AV isn’t what will make you successful or not. That's the difference between an 8 and a 9, but getting started is about just doing it, practicing, and improving over time. I use a wireless lavalier mic for training videos so I can move around. I also use a cheap Blue Yeti pointed at me, and while the raw audio is bad, post-processing makes it good. AI audio processing has gotten so good that with a little cleanup, even cheap mics are good enough.

Scott Hanselman: One of my best interviews was with my son, recorded with my iPhone, processed afterward. Garbage in, garbage out, but sometimes post-processing fixes things. Also, pop filters help with plosive breath sounds—but proper mic positioning is better.

Andrew Murphy: And practice! I still have the recording of my first talk—a 15 minute lightning talk on git techniques. I was terrible, but I got out there and improved by watching my own recordings. It’s a skill—some people are naturals, but everyone gets better with practice.

Scott Hanselman: Absolutely. Yes, you can have initial talent, but practice matters—like Ed Sheeran says, his early recordings were bad, but he worked hard. Venus and Serena Williams—hours of work. Same for public speaking: it’s a muscle; do the pushups and flex later.

Andrew Murphy: Exactly! I do international speaking, but I also do lots of local meet-ups to practice new talks. When I go to a bigger stage in Copenhagen, I want to have done the talk several times in front of small groups first.

[00:31:58] Video Tools, OBS, Editing, and Getting Fluent

Scott Hanselman: (Responding to Ryan): On rendering video—for tools, OBS is what I use for recording. I switch scenes, share desktop, do picture-in-picture—all live, no editing, because I don’t want to edit! But that only works if you practice being able to present and switch cams/inputs fluently. If you don’t want to learn OBS, record everything and edit it after, but I prefer live production.

Andrew Murphy: I think that's true for people who are committed, but if you're just starting, don’t spend hours setting up all the shortcuts and scenes. You might not stick with it. If you're going all-in, yes, but early on, just get making videos.

Scott Hanselman: I disagree that it’s hard or takes hours; four scenes, four hotkeys—done in 90 minutes. The point is to be fluent with a few tools, not overwhelmed with choices—you can be intentional and thoughtful up front, and you’ll be a lot happier.

Tim (Chat): I use it at my church—set up is not hard.

Andrew Murphy: Maybe it's an 80/20 thing.

Scott Hanselman: That's fair—do a little work up front for 80% of the gains. Adam Curry (Chat): “If you keep doing one takes until you get a solid take, you’ll get better than relying on post-production.” I agree.

Andrew Murphy: (On short vs. long form): For shorts, you need snappy editing; for long form, you can be more natural, mistakes and all, which shows your humanity.

Scott Hanselman: For example, a recent hour-long video with Steven Toub: no edits, just code and conversation, live. The trick is being fluent—knowing your material and how to teach. If you make mistakes, talk through them, don’t freeze.

[00:38:30] Balancing Content Output, Life, and Avoiding Perfectionism

Ojo (Chat): Scott, you’re prolific—how do you keep it up with life and kids?

Scott Hanselman: Pace yourself, realize it won’t be perfect, and be intentional with your time. People lose hours to Netflix or doomscrolling—revenge nighttime procrastination. I know when my kids get home, when this podcast ends, and then I’m with family. This isn’t from working 16-hour days. Prioritize, don’t burn 10 hours editing videos. Mr. Beast and big YouTubers have full-time editors and teams. I’m just one dude. I edit lightly, publish a weekly podcast, but don't aim for perfection—perfectionism keeps people from ever shipping.

Andrew Murphy: Intentionality is key. [Refers to prior livestream on planning your time.] It's not about hustle culture—I’m anti-hustle. If you’re in a life stage where you can’t hustle, that doesn’t mean you can’t do great things, but you need structure and intention. I have a 17-month-old, I’m starting a business—my time demands are huge, so I structure around that.

Scott Hanselman: I’m a deliberate practice believer. First, you have to notice when you’re wasting time, otherwise you fall into a cycle of working, doomscrolling, and feeling bad—gotta get off the roundabout.

[00:43:51] Preparation, Demos, and Handling Mistakes

Sebastian Duquette (Chat): How rehearsed should presentations be?

Scott Hanselman: Depends. For demos, I have five bullet points and empathy for the audience. In every demonstration, ask, “So what?” after each point. Build a story arc, a crescendo, and a clean outro. For longer collaborative sessions (like 90 minutes with Steven Toub), we had six to eight bullet points, followed that connective thread, and it worked. Viewers appreciate fluency and seeing failures handled gracefully.

If doing a live conference demo, I make the demo fail as many times as possible beforehand, so I know how to fix every failure. With every talk, ask: do you want five-nines guarantee, or is just 99% enough? Prepare accordingly.

Andrew Murphy: There are two axes: preparation/rehearsal, and scripting/ad-libbing. You can be well-prepared and still ad-lib, they're not exclusive.

Scott Hanselman: Agreed! For a keynote, have more backup plans. For a TikTok, doesn’t matter if it fails. Match the level of redundancy to the importance.

[00:51:00] Storytelling, Impact, and Shaping Audience Outcomes

(Chat Question): What storytelling techniques or resources do you use?

Andrew Murphy: The hero’s journey is a classic, but I focus on the mindset shift: What do I want people to do differently after this? I work backwards from the intended outcome. For me, it’s about action, not just information.

Scott Hanselman: As a teacher, my call to action is empowerment. I want viewers to feel more powerful than before, to feel, “I didn’t know I could do that; now I’ll try.” That’s the outcome I want.

Andrew Murphy: That’s a good life lesson, too.

Scott Hanselman: Sorry about the bandwidth—we keep interrupting. Next time I’ll fly to Australia!

Andrew Murphy: If I want five-nines internet!

[00:52:47] Downsides of Being Public and Managing Negativity

Andrew Murphy: We’ve talked about the positives of sharing in public. What are the potential downsides or challenges for you, Scott?

Scott Hanselman: Occasionally you get negativity. Right now, I just muted a Twitter thread where people were being butts. It’s never people with names and faces, just faceless avatars. But unless you’re arguing with me in good faith, I just move on.

I’m privileged—a straight, older white dude. It’s easier for me than others. For anyone: you don’t have to use your real name. For years there was “why the lucky stiff” in the Ruby community; we never knew their real name, but their work was respected. You can protect your privacy and still present consistently. Use the same handle/avatar everywhere so people can credit your contributions.

[00:55:33] Handling Online Criticism and Staying Authentic

Andrew Murphy: Even face-to-face, sometimes after a talk someone will come and disagree deeply, and I love having that conversation. On the Internet you rarely get the depth, just superficial arguments.

Tim (Chat): Watch talks and analyze what works; copy the good bits.

Andrew Murphy: Good advice. Also, watch yourself—and don’t try to be someone you’re not. Faking a personality is draining; so copy good techniques but stay authentic.

Scott Hanselman: Huge point. I tried to emulate certain people’s personalities—that was the wrong idea. You want to be the best version of yourself. Turn yourself up to “plus one or two” if you need, but stay you. There’s improv exercises (like Comedy Sports, Whose Line Is It Anyway) that help you learn extemporaneous talking. Notice your “ums” and “ahs,” decide what you want to change, give yourself grace, and keep going.

[00:58:17] Final Tips and Wrap-up

Andrew Murphy: When I started, I’d listen to a recording of myself before the next talk. It reminded me both of the content and of the habits I wanted to improve. That reflection and practice helps clamp down on bad speech patterns.

Thank you very much, Scott, for joining me! I can't believe how fast this hour has gone. Next livestream is May 2nd with Chris Simon—“How to Stay Adaptable as a Startup CTO.” If you want to connect, you can find my LinkedIn and more about Tech Leaders Launchpad on the screen.

Scott, anything you want to plug?

Scott Hanselman: I’d point people to the podcast (19 years, every Thursday), the blog (still lots of good content), TikTok, all the socials. If there’s a network, I’m there talking tech and sharing. Now, I’m off to see if I can get data off these 40-year-old floppy disks.

Andrew Murphy: Amazing. I want to see what you find! Thanks again, Scott, and thank you everyone for the lively chat and questions. See you next time!