It is very common to see direct speech used in books or in a newspaper article. Paul came in and said, “I’m really hungry.”.We use direct speech when we simply repeat what someone says, putting the phrase between speech marks: When we want to describe what someone said, one option is to use direct speech. Read on to find out more about these forms and improve your English storytelling skills. In order to describe what people said there are two different types of speech – direct speech and indirect speech (or reported speech). Such occasions can include a social situation as well as in a work email or presentation. There are many occasions in which we need to describe an event or action that happened, and very often that includes repeating what someone said.