So what does communication mean in this context? And is that a shared meaning among all participants? Unless it's clearly defined I don't see how anyone can me

So what does communication mean in this context? And is that a shared meaning among all participants? Unless it's clearly defined I don't see how anyone can measure it in a meaningful way. This seems to be treating communication as some kind of qualitative abstract. "On a scale of 1 to 4 stars, how much did your spouse love you last Wednesday?" That tells me more about the esteem of the respondent than it does about the state of the person we're trying to evaluate.