Christopher,
Creating a presence as you describe can be effective in many cases. There are times students are just unruly, and more aggressive techniques are needed, such as asking students to stop the chatter, asking specific students questions when they begin to lose attention, or even taking a mental break ( like one minute), then returning to the topic. In the extreme, it may be necessary to even change activities rather than waste everybody's time. I also try to be real -- if something occurs that is humorous, I join in the laughter of the moment, then get back to… >>>
