Guest star Howie Seago, who plays Riva, is deaf and had in fact petitioned the producers to create an episode involving deaf people.
After this episode aired, the producers received supportive mail from both deaf and hearing people.
Riva's dialogue is in American Sign Language (and telepathy).
Two scenes in Picard's ready room, which depict a hologram of the Lima Sierra system, during both the first and final scenes, are one of only two instances during the entire run of the series that the holographic interface on the desk is seen in operation. The other was in The Child (1988).