Hypnosis is not magic that allows one person to take control of another. Hypnosis is a natural state of mind that people typically reach often in their day to day life without realizing it. The hypnotic state is a state of intense focus where learning/unlearning can happen extremely quickly. When you enter a hypnotic state you still maintain control of your ethics and personal desires...this means that hypnosis cannot be used to force someone to do something they don't want to do.
Hypnosis sessions typically consist of three things. An induction, Suggestions and an awakener. A session can be done through writing, a recorded tape, a video or live interaction between two or more people.
The hypnotic induction is the initiator of the hypnotic state. During this phase of a hypnotic session your mind is prepared for hypnosis through various relaxation techniques. This is the part of the session where you are guided into deeper and deeper states of relaxation and your attention is focused on achieving a specific state of mind.
Once your mind reaches a hypnotic state, the next phase of a hypnosis session is the suggestions phase. This is where suggestions and commands are made to the subconscious mind. These suggestions should be positive in nature and often are repeated several times in order for them to take hold. Suggestions are designed to change your mental outlook, expand your thinking or guide you to making changes in your behaviours or beliefs. Suggestions can be given as direct commands, indirect suggestions or as event driven suggestions. These suggestions can be obvious and direct or subtle metaphors that guide your subconscious to new realizations.
After sufficient suggestions have been given to make a change in a subject, the next step in a hypnotic session is to awaken them. The awakener is where a subject is guided back into their normal mind state. This state will typically include giving the subject suggestions that will make achieving hypnosis easier the next time they try, ensuring the subject wakes up feeling relaxed and comfortable, and making sure the subject awakens completely from the hypnotic state.