INPUT ARTICLE: Article: One of the best ways to grab your audience's attention is to tell a short, engaging story. Pull a story from your own experiences in the field. Look at current events for a story that relates to the purpose of your speech. Try to tell the story in bullet points, highlighting the key moments in a few sentences. For example, if you are writing a keynote speech on diversity in the classroom, you may tell a story about a student of color that you worked with in your classroom as a teacher. You may also look in the news for a story about a student of color who publicly spoke out about difficulties with diversity in the classroom, preferably a news story based in your area or country. Another option is to start with a fact you find interesting or engaging. Pick a fact that may not be known by a lot of people, or by the majority of your audience. You may use a fact from your own research or look for facts from trusted sources that relate to the purpose of your speech. For example, if the purpose of your speech is to discuss social responsibility in the corporate world, you may open with a fact about how consumers tend to buy more if a brand is socially responsible. In the beginning of your speech, you should also state the purpose clearly and concisely. You may state the purpose right after your opening story or fact. State the purpose by saying, "I am here today to talk to you about" or "Today, I am going to be sharing". For example, your purpose may appear as, "I am here today to talk to you about social responsibility, the theme of this conference and the theme of much of my professional work." Humor can be a great tool in a keynote speech. Being funny can help to engage the audience and make your speech more memorable. Try to adopt a joking, light tone throughout the speech. Have a balance of funny asides and serious moments. For example, you may make a funny aside that is self-deprecating, such as, "I wasn't always a great teacher. Sometimes, I was known as the fun teacher or the angry teacher. Not always the great one." Repetition can be a great way to reinforce your ideas and remind the audience of the key points in your speech. Return to several key terms in your speech so the audience stays engaged. Bring up a point made earlier in the speech so the audience is reminded of the purpose of your speech. For example, you may highlight terms like "unity," "engagement," and "social consciousness" in your speech by returning to them at least twice. You may begin the speech by mentioning these terms and then return to them again later in the speech. Don't try to put on a professional or formal tone, especially if it makes you feel awkward or uncomfortable. Try to express yourself like you would to a colleague or a friend. Use language that you use everyday and try to infuse the speech with your natural voice. You will come off more convincing and engaging this way. For example, you may use a funny saying that you use with your students in your classroom in the speech. Or you may use less formal words and terms to keep the tone of the speech conversational. End the speech by compelling the audience to take some kind of action. The action could be to think about an idea they may not have considered before or to engage more with certain members of their community. Wrapping up with a call to action will give the audience a clear takeaway. For example, you may have a call to action that refers to the story or fact you used at the beginning of your speech: "Just like my student who reached out to a peer in need, I ask you all now to be vulnerable, to try to reach out to someone in your community who needs help."

SUMMARY: Start with an engaging story. Begin with an interesting fact. State the purpose of the speech. Use humor to add levity. Repeat key terms and words. Write the speech in your natural voice. Wrap up the speech with a call to action.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Christmas trees come in all shapes and sizes, but a smaller one might look more proportionate in a bedroom. You might also want to get a fake tree as opposed to a real one. They are less likely to shed leaves and do not need to be watered. Add a small craft tree if you have some desk or shelf space. Art and crafts stores often sell mini versions of Christmas trees, ranging between 8 and 12 inches (20.32 and 30.48 centimeters). You will also find mini lights and ornaments in the same area. Get a 2 to 4 foot (0.61 to 1.22 meters) tall tree if you have a larger room or not a lot of furniture. You can stand the tree on a small table, a stool, or even a crate to give it extra height. Get a "pencil" tree if you have a small room or a lot of furniture. Pencil trees can range from 3 to 9 feet (0.92 to 2.74 meters) tall, but they can be as narrow as 8 or 20 inches (20.32 or 50.8 centimeters). They don't take up a lot of space width-wise and are perfect for corners. If you yearn for that pine-scent, consider hiding a few real pine branches in your tree. You can also use a pine-scented spray as well. If you don't have much floor space, you can hang pine branches from the ceiling in the corner of your room. You can also dress up these branches with mini battery-operated Christmas lights, tinsel, and ornaments. It might be a good idea to use plastic ornaments instead of glass ones, however. Make sure to thoroughly rinse the branches so you don't bring home any insects. You can even decorate the garland with mini battery-operated Christmas lights, tinsel, and ornaments. Great places to hang such garlands include above your bed, over your window, around your ceiling, and draped over your bookshelves. Find some ornaments, lights, beaded garlands, and tinsel. Drape these around your tree, pine branches, or pine garland. If you are hanging your branches or garlands, consider using plastic ornaments instead of glass ones. Mini Christmas ornaments might look better on pine garlands. You can find them in art and crafts stores, in the same section that sells mini/craft Christmas trees. If your tree is less than 3 feet (0.92 meters) tall, use mini battery-operated Christmas lights. The plug-in lights might be too long for smaller trees. If you can't find any (or don't like) pin garlands, you can hang up some tinsel garlands instead. Great places to hang them include above windows and around ceilings. If you use tape to hang the garlands up, be sure to use clear tape. It will be less visible. Great places to hang up lights include above your bed, over your shelves, and around your window. You can get ones that plug into an outlet or battery-operated ones. If you use tape to hang up your lights, try to use clear; it will be less visible on your wall. If your room has white walls, try to get Christmas lights with white wires instead of the traditional green ones. They will blend into your walls better and clash less. Unless you are putting them up in your window, avoid getting blinking or flashing lights; those can be very distracting after a while. Consider matching the lights to your room and decorations. For example, if your room has a lot of cool colors, try getting blue or clear lights. If your room has a lot of warm colors, try getting white or multi-colored lights. Consider putting "icicle" style lights in your window.

SUMMARY:
Add a Christmas tree. Hang pine branches if you don't have room for a tree. Drape some pine garlands around your room. Decorate your tree, pine branches, and pine garlands. Hang up some tinsel. Put up some Christmas lights.