It is not a hearing, nobody testifies, and it resolves more matters in this county than trials do.
A settlement conference in Springfield County runs about half a day. Both sides file a short brief, a judge who will not try the case reads them, and then spends the morning moving between two rooms telling each side the weakest part of their own file.
Come with authority to settle, a number you have already decided on, and the documents that support it. The single most common reason a conference fails is that the person who can approve the number is not in the building.