Small and large props

On September 7 Denise Graveline blogged about Using a sheet of paper and other ordinary things as props. Here are three more places where you can find small, inexpensive items for props:














1. Dollar stores. The 14-inch long plastic toy scissors shown above ($1) came from the toy aisle of my local Dollar Tree. It is too blunt to cut through red tape, which could be a metaphor for corporate problems. (On Amazon you can get $50 giant scissors that will cut ceremonial ribbons).














2. Party supply stores like Zurchers. A little monster finger puppet was used to represent anxiety in this previous post. He only cost about a quarter, and there were several styles and colors in the bulk bins. You could pass them out to an audience at the beginning of a speech.












3. Toy stores. When I spoke to insurance claim adjusters about lamp analysis after vehicle accidents, I used an orange plastic Slinky to represent the filament of a headlight.























There also are large, expensive props used by corporations for marketing. At the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic rally last week there was a 90,000 cubic foot red hot air balloon with the Coca Cola logo. The Coca Cola Balloon Team also brought a 154 foot high Coke bottle balloon!