Turning a LinkedIn post into bilingual videos in minutes

Being able to create content rapidly and reach a global audience is not just a competitive edge—it's essential. After sharing a short leadership post on LinkedIn, I wanted to test how quickly that message could evolve using the available tools.

What followed was a spontaneous experiment in multilingual content creation that became a practical demonstration of what I had just written about: leaders who create the case studies of tomorrow.

Shortly after I published a post on LinkedIn about proactive leadership—and how the leaders I admire don't wait for case studies but create them—my colleague Alexander asked me about it. During the conversation, Alexander suddenly mentioned that HeyGen had just released its new Avatar 4 functionality.

We decided to test the capabilities of HeyGen's video translation tools. We have used HeyGen for years, and now we wanted to see how the translation tool has evolved. The idea was simple: take the message I had just posted and make it a video—first in English, then translated into Mandarin using HeyGen, and then post it on LinkedIn as a native video.

The tools we used

I recorded the original video in UK English on a MacBook Pro using QuickTime Player, with the camera and mic from my iPhone 16. I used the built-in tools available to me, without any fancy equipment. I spoke directly to the camera, using the script from my post:

"The leaders I admire most? They don't wait for case studies. They create them.

Adoption starts at the top.

What are you modelling for your team?"

Creating the video

Recording the UK English version took only a couple of minutes. Then, I uploaded it to HeyGen, which generated a Chinese-language version of the same video with my voice and likeness preserved. Thereafter, I generated language versions in Dutch, German, Finnish, and Norwegian.

My intention was straightforward: to demonstrate the accessibility and power of today's tools. We live in a world where we can achieve so much without friction. This small experiment indicated that an idea posted in the morning could be transformed into a polished video within a few minutes, without requiring a production team, studio, or translators.

What we learned

The process was quick, easy, and powerful. With just a few clicks, I could reach audiences in different languages and test how far and fast a simple message could go. The takeaway? If you're curious and willing to try, the tools are here to help you lead by example.

Reflection

We live in a world full of opportunities. Leaders today don't need to wait for perfect conditions or case studies to emerge; they can take action now. They can—and should—create them. And now, they can do it in multiple languages in minutes.

The feedback from natives is that the translations are somewhat simplistic and literal, lacking credibility in business jargon. What is your opinion?

Here you can listen to and watch some of the translated videos:

Mandarin

Dutch

German

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