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Cathy Lai
Cathy Lai

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I Explained My Code While Writing It on Camera. Here’s What Surprised Me

Recently, I decided to start recording my screen while I code. Instead of just sharing the finished destination, I wanted to document the actual journey — exposing my raw thought process, articulating my goals, and wrestling with design trade-offs in real time.

It’s a bit terrifying to show the scaffolding before the building is finished, but I’ve realized it's one of the most powerful ways to

  • Sharpen technical communication,
  • Stress-test my own mental models
  • Explain trade-offs
  • Build the exact muscle memory needed to ace tough coding interviews.

What I've Found

The biggest surprise has been how much building in public has accelerated my learning.

Once I know I’m going to explain an idea on camera or write about it afterwards, I naturally dig much deeper. I spend more time researching, questioning my own assumptions, and practicing the explanation until I truly understand it. Teaching has become part of my learning process rather than something I do after I’ve learned.

Here’s a short explanation I created :)

Recording myself has also created a feedback loop I never expected. Watching the videos back lets me notice things I would never catch in the moment—whether I’m speaking too quickly, rushing through an explanation, using too much jargon, or simply not making as much sense as I thought. Each recording becomes a small coaching session with my future self.

Looking back, I thought I was documenting my coding journey for other developers. In reality, I was building better communication skills, deeper technical understanding, and more confidence every time I pressed the record button. Those are skills that carry over into technical interviews, team discussions, and every conversation where ideas need to be explained clearly.

Here’s one I actually write the code for a search filter:

How about You?

Have you tried hitting recording on your coding sessions? How do you find it?

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