It was a vision in neon. As my taxi sped along Weymouth’s faded Georgian esplanade, one guesthouse stood out against the twee B&Bs. Its sign read A Knight’s Rest, For a Noble Sleep, the words flashing from pink to blue like a lonely fairground attraction. Above that, an illuminated (and apparently inebriated) knight on horseback reared up robotically. For all its tackiness and seaside cheek, A Knight’s Rest looked strangely wonderful. Two fingers to the tyranny of bland hotel chains.

My visit to Weymouth came courtesy of New Look. This may seem an unlikely home for one of the UK’s leading fashion retailers, and my task there was equally improbable: over the course of the week I would train 50 non-writers, from marketing assistants to legal advisors to warehouse managers, to produce consistent copy for the intranet.

Now, if you’ve ever dabbled in the dark art of ‘tone of voice’, you’ll know that consistency is crucial to a project like this. And consistency is not normally how you’d describe the output of 50 novice writers. No, the word there is cacophony.

Consider my first group: Charlotte (faux fur coat) sprinkled her writing with feel-good fashion words like ‘gorgeousness’. Malik (chunky-knit cardigan) was at pains to translate IT terminology into everyday language. Jim (hi vis jacket), a fan of crime writing, seeped his subheadings in drama and suspense. So far, so idiosyncratic. I began to think about how much work I or another editor would have to do to bring the copy ‘in line with the brand’.

But as the delegates cheerily put pen to paper, I began to question the logic of consistency: why would you want to bury individual expression beneath corporate tone of voice? In fashion terms, wouldn’t that be like asking everyone to wear a uniform? This is the intranet, after all, a place where you get to know your colleagues. And what better way to get to know people than through the qualities and quirks of their writing? (Your personality always comes through in writing – just look at a lonely hearts ad).

In fact, so much communication is user generated now, I’m surprised more companies haven’t switched from Brand Bibles to a more creative approach; encouraging rather than suppressing different voices. One of the most satisfying things about user-generated content is seeing how different people use language, but the narrow scope of most tone of voice guidelines would rule these ‘inconsistencies’ out.

During my week at New Look I met some brilliant characters, the majority of whom relished the chance to do a bit of writing. When their words go live, they will not be perfect. They will not read consistently like the words in a stick of rock. They will need tweaking. But what they will have over the polished copy of other intranets is the ring of real personality. And that’s why New Look’s intranet will be worth reading.

Writing – like the clothes you wear or the hotel you choose – is ultimately a matter of taste. And without the occasional Knight’s Rest, it’s all just Travelodge.

Neil has no idea I’ve logged in to corrupt his peerless integrity, but I couldn’t in good commercial conscience let an article on his excellent writing course go by without a proper plug. You can find out more here. It’s dead good. TTFN, Grant.