One easy thing a chairperson can do at a conference do make them more engaging and interactive is to allow the participants to have a short conversation with each other after a speaker has finished their talk but before entering the Q&A.
Here is a short video of people doing this at the Ark Groups KC UK Conference in London in June 2007.
The Gurteen Knowledge Community is a global learning community
of over 17,000 people in 160 countries across the world.
The community is for people who are committed to making a difference:
people who wish to share and learn from each other and who strive to see
the world differently, think differently and act differently.
Membership of the Gurteen Knowledge Community is free.