Conferences are basically meetings between a specified group of organizers or members of an organization with the express purpose of achieving some goal. To confer means to meet in order to share or compare views. Similarly conferences are meetings to discuss or consult. In broad terms, a conference can be defined as a meeting of individuals or representatives of various bodies for the purpose of discussing and/or acting on topics of common interest. There are many types of conferences. For example, in academic conferences, researcher present and discuss their papers or research work. In medical conferences, doctors discuss their work or new diseases and in political conferences, leaders discuss political or pressure issues.

Any large meeting is usually called a conference, while meetings are frequently called workshops. Conferences can be divided into single track or multiple track meetings. A single track conference has one session, while a multiple track conference has several parallel sessions with different speakers in separate rooms. Depending on the theme of the conference, many social or entertainment activities may also be offered. If it is a large conference, academic publishing houses may set up booths offering book sales. At larger conferences for businesses or at political meetings, interest groups may also be set up.

Conferences are usually held in convention centers or hotels. But with new technology using audio visual equipment and satellite technology conferences can be done without actually meeting in person. A conference call is a telephonic conversation where the calling party meet in unison through conferencing lines.