How to approach this game?

I didn't get very far into the game, but I found myself unsure when a decision would pass time and when it would not. I want to go around and talk to everybody to learn what options I have, but talking to someone might cause time to pass and prevent me from talking to someone else.

I prefer to roleplay the game and I'm not worried about making the right choice at every point in time, but how do I know what the choices available to me are so that I can choose the one most appropriate for my character?

How should I approach the game?