I might not be using the right terms exactly, but hopefully this makes sense.
This is only my second time DMing and this is with a group of newish players. I'm running an adventure out of a book which is fairly linear, since during our session 0, the players communicated that they would prefer following a set story rather than freely roaming around. I'm totally ok with that and am trying to accomodate.
The problem I struggle with, is I am utterly failing at presenting the plot points in an interesting way without it feeling lame and forced. For example:
"As you make your way down the path, you see two figures ahead. You recognize them as the odd couple from the tavern. What do you do?"
The answer is sometimes "uh... We ignore them and continue down the trail" which is frustrating when they are major characters for the story. The players sometimes get so focused on advancing the plot that they just skip past it all.
However it's almost worse then their answer is "well I guess we're supposed to talk to them. So... I do that." I feel that awkwardness, because if I were in their shoes, it would feel just as forced to me.
But... It's in the adventure book! They need to meet these guys or the next section kind of doesnt make sense. I have tried having the NPCs directly approach the player characters, but even that tends to feel like the players are just going through the motions. They know this must be important so they play along but I feel like it just turns into me giving info dump after info dump as each NPC appears, and it feels so contrived.
So, yes, I have talked to the players, and they are trying their best to engage. This is now me asking how I can be a better DM and present plot points in a natural, interesting way that doesn't just feel like a queue of NPCs lining up for their turn to "stare menacingly at the PCs" so they can stumble through another stilted conversation.
This is particularly difficult for "random encounters" that are meant to flesh out the world and give the players a chance to roleplay. "You come across a goblin next to an elaborate painting on the side of a large oak tree. 'my brushes! My brushes are missing!'" If I were a player, I would have no reason to engage with this. It might be a fun little interaction but would our group of adventurers really stop and talk to every random person they see? Help every cat out of a tree? I want to make the world feel full and exciting and fun to play inside but instesd I feel like I'm just presenting my players a series of chores.
Why does the whole adventure hinge on this one conversation? It's helpful if you don't think of the story as a chain of events from A to B to C, but instead start by asking, "What happens if the party does nothing?". Did the cult resurrect their leader? Does the baron usurp the throne? Does an innocent person go to prison?
Whatever the "bad thing" that might happen is, your encounters each bring the players one step closer to it coming true unless they step in and stop it. The secret of course, is that the "bad thing" can be delayed as much as you need it to, and you can invent as many consequences along the way as you need.
When it comes to starting conversations with NPCs, this is where the backstories your players give you are useful. PC backstories are basically a set of plot hooks your players have already opted into. You can even go as far as requiring backstories to answer questions like, "Who does this character care deeply about?" "Who does this character never want to see again?" "What would they do if they had 1000 gold?"
If the PC's background talks about loving painting, or collecting artwork, then your example with the goblin missing their paintbrushes would be an excellent hook.
At the end of each session, it's also helpful to ask the players what they plan to do next. That way, you can be reasonably certain about what they will do and plan around that. You can start your sessions more "on rails" because the players have already chosen the rails they want to be on. As the session goes on, things get less and less certain, and it doesn't make sense to have detailed encounters planned out. Just improvise to the best of your ability, and when you run out of steam say, "Great session folks! What are you planning to do next?"
Thank you. Yeah, this is usually how I would approach it if it were a more open sandboxy gsme like my last campaign.
In this case however, the whole adventure doesn't hinge on this one conversation, but rather the adventure book assumes the players have hit certain story beats in a certain order and plans the narrstive accordingly. If they ignore the couple, then they miss out on receiving their quest to find their daughter or whatever, and arriving at the wolf den the body of the mangled girl has no meaning. If they don't talk to the paintbrush goblin, they don't learn about the pixies causing trouble for the goblin clan. Sometimes its critical to the main plot. Sometimes its just a side bonus reward or just a roleplaying opportunity to learn lore or information. The way the book lays it out it states explicitly: players must encounter these 3 points in order so the final encounter of this chapter makes sense.
Unfortunately asking the players what they want to do next session results in "we want to do what the book says to see what happens in the story!" And that tracks with our session 0. They want a linear story.
But I can only have my players walk past so many burned out villages before it gets awkward and I just say "look, guys you're supposed to go in and investigate."
I just have no idea how to balance this "on-rails" approach with actually inviting player intersction. Am I just describing scenery or am I hinting they should interact? Is this NPC plot-critical or just setting up some world building? When do the players know they got what they needed from the conversation or if this is just a random guy trying to sell them stuff?
Wow, yeah it sounds like your group has very different expectations from the ones I've played with, which is fine, but it feels really foreign to me. Clearly your players are comfortable with walking past obvious hooks, so maybe the story needs to come to them. In your examples, maybe the odd couple approaches the party and asks them a question first, or the goblin offers to paint a portrait of the party if they help find the missing paintbrushes.
Also, remember that you know your players better than the adventure author. If some vital information gets skipped, you now know that you need to twist the next encounter to somehow include it, or invent a new encounter. Prewritten adventures are there to make your life as a DM easier, not harder. If part of it isn't working for you, you can drop it and your players will be none the wiser. Focus on what you find fun about DMing and let the adventure fill in the bits you don't like. If the whole thing really doesn't work without these strict events happening in a certain order, the adventure might just be... not good. In which case, you really aren't losing much by rewriting it to your liking.