Adjusting the amount and level of information to one's audience

This paper reports an attempt to identify the amount and level of information that can be usefully imparted in thirty-minute broadcasts. The study is reported in three stages. The first introduces a new methodology to overcome the usual problem of results being too situation-specific. This involves the use of concepts derived from the psychology of skills, information theory and studies of human learning. The second stage illustrates the possibility of predicting subjective estimates of attainment by combining independently obtained measures of knowledge gap, aptitude and overall presentation difficulty. The third stage isolates the various factors which influence individuals' perceptions of overall presentation difficulty. Suggestions are made for the practical use of these findings in any single-exposure communication. Tables are also provided from which to read off the required level of presentation difficulty if a given level of attainment is to be achieved.