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From: Rick

I think the most effective way to deal with the problem is to let the PCs deal with the after effects of their actions for the next few sessions. If they immediately attack that neutral orc who was going to tell them where to secret entrance was, fine. Let them try to find it on their own. Make it obvious that 'someone' they've met was going to help. Being a good DM can involve some out of character hints, too. I've found dropping clues during before the game can really spark some interest in what's happening. Do this a few times, and they will probably learn to talk more often.

Ironically, the best I've ever seen this used was while I was sitting on the PC side of the screen, and a friend (we'll call him Goose) was DMing. (BYW, he learned most of his DMing tricks from me, but that's neither here nor there. ;)

Our characters were talking to the mayor of a small town where we had just eradicated the Thieves Guild. I can't remember what he said, but it was something that was open to multiple interpretations and we took it the wrong way. We politely excused ourselves, but as we were leaving, the Cleric took a swing at the mayor with her bow, rolling a 20, followed by a 00 on our homebrewed critical table: Instant Death. After the chorus of cheers and sombrero dances, me and the guy playing the cleric looked at each other, simultaneously coming to the realization that we had just killed an innocent man. So, instead of asking him what he meant by that, or trying to find out more through some other means, our good-aligned characters spent the next 3 or 4 games trying to find a way to resurrect this joker. We eventually succeeded and, due to some quick thinking on our part, he was none the wiser. Even so, we ended up guilted into performing missions for free for a time after that. What makes Goose's reaction to our bloodthirst so brilliant, is that, even though we messed up (badly), we still had a chance to save the campaign, but we did pay dearly for our mistake. This was almost a year ago, and I still remember it. I'm pretty sure everyone else in that group does too.