8 types of figure of speech are used to add color and flavor to language. They are techniques used by writers to create imaginative and expressive writing. Here are 8 types of figures of speech that can be used to enhance writing: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, and irony. Similar is a comparison between two things using "like" or "as", while metaphor makes a direct comparison.