It's just power of suggestion. If you want to be hypnotized, whether you realize it or not, then your mind will let yourself become "hypnotized."
If you're really steadfast and determined on not being hypnotized, then it just won't happen. It's like any other party trick involving power of suggestion.
I've been involved in a parlor trick like "hypnotism" before. A friend's mother lit a candle, and invited us to try to put it out by moving two of our fingers in a single downward stroke near the candle's flame. Obviously, the displaced air is what put the candle out, but she had set up the trick as if we were putting out the candle by will alone. After we were all confident in our ability to put the candle out, she waved her hand over the candle and stated that we would not be able to put the candle out again, as she had placed a "spell" on it (she was apparently "Wiccan," or whatever you call it, or at least claimed to be). Even though we all tried as hard as we could to put the candle out after she had waved her hand over it... no one could do it.
It was all a trick, naturally. Magic tricks like that are just that... tricks. Because the woman was significantly older than us, and therefore a symbol of wisdom and authority (at least on a subconscious level), our minds accepted what she said as a universal truth. Our mindset wouldn't allow us to put out the candle. Power of suggestion. Simple.
Try it on a group of people who are younger than you sometime.
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