An easy way to prevent static shock is to stop walking, touch a piece of wood (like a door frame or a desk) for about two seconds, then touch the metal doorknob or the other person. The electrical potential you build up by moving across whatever surface you've moving across will bleed off without shocking you when you touch the wood, because wood is a poor conductor of electricity. (It won't prevent the other person from discharging into you, unfortunately.)
I have the same problem as many of you. The absolute humidity is low in this part of the country when it's cold outside. My chair at work sits on a plastic rug protector and sometimes I'd swear that my chair is plugged into the wall. But if I touch the wooden desktop before touching anything metal, I don't have that arc light and sound or the smell of burnt ozone and skin hanging in the air. No pain either.
