Please

 "What's the magic word?"

I hated that question as a child. It meant I'd forgotten to say please.

"Please," I'd say knowing nothing would happen until I did. And whatever I asked for would be granted in most cases.

Several decades later, a German friend, in a trilingual family, asked the question of her daughter the same when the child forgot. S'il te plâit, bitte, please, depending on the language they were chatting in. She also referred to it as a mot magique, magic word and  magisches Wort. As a pre-teen, the girl has automatically added it to her requests.

I had an Yugoslavian exchange student staying with me in the late 70s. "Why do you always say 'please' when you ask me to do something?" she asked me.

"Politeness. And you can say no, although ... athough it would be better if you didn't," I admitted. Most of my requests with the please were household related. I told her she could use please when asking me for things,

A friend who was visiting Turkey with his two little girls made sure they knew Turkish for please and thank you. When they used it at a costume jewelry store, the owner was so impressed, they gave each girl a small trinket.

Such a simple word but like many simple things, it can be powerful. It softens the least desirable requests and honey coats the sweetest. It is giving the recipient of the request a bit of dignity whether equal or unequal in position.

A demand of a sales girl with please and a smile may make the transition smoother or more pleasant.

And a thank you, merci, danke, doesn't hurt human communication either.

That's a bit of magic, isn't it?