During hypnosis, a person's conscious mind is somewhat subdued, not asleep but less concerned with what is happening around them. Even though many hypnotists use the word "sleep" during a show, they are not actually asleep. The technical term for this state is somnambulism. It would a be a similar state as when a person is sleep walking. The person will move, have their eyes open and seem awake, but in reality, they are somewhere in-between the waking and sleep state. As a hypnotist talks to a hypnotized person, the subconscious mind more readily accepts what it is told and the body acts accordingly. One very important factor of the subconscious mind is that it is totally objective. If the subconscious mind chooses to accept a particular suggestion, it is done uncritically, as fact, without any rationalization or analyzation..
Basically, a hypnotized person is merely in a state of increased suggestibility. They are more likely to be able to accept the suggestions of another person than without the condition of hypnosis. Everything we learn to do eventually gets into the subconscious, however hypnosis makes it a lot faster and more effective way of getting it there. When hypnotized, a suggestion, once received and accepted by the subconscious mind, is automatically and uncritically acted upon.