To calculate the total percentage discount when two successive discounts are applied, we can follow these steps:

1. Let the original price be $P$.
2. Apply the first discount of 30%:
   The new price after the first discount is $P - 0.30P = 0.70P$.
3. Apply the second discount of 20% to the new price:
   The price after the second discount is $0.70P - 0.20(0.70P) = 0.70P \times 0.80 = 0.56P$.

Thus, the final price is 56% of the original price, meaning that the total percentage discount is:

$100\% - 56\% = 44\%$

So, the total percentage discount is 44%.

Would you like more details or have any questions about this? Here are five related questions you might find interesting:

1. How do successive discounts affect the final price in general?
2. What happens if both discounts are 50% each? What would the total discount be?
3. How would the total discount change if the first discount was 40% and the second was 10%?
4. Can you express successive percentage discounts using a single formula?
5. How would the result change if a third discount of 10% was applied after the second discount?

Tip: When calculating successive percentage discounts, always apply each discount to the reduced price, not the original one.