Forensics (n.) - the art or study of argumentation and formal debate.

Speech and debate, or forensics, is an activity with lots of specific terminology.  Here is a quick guide to the things you'll hear thrown around at a tournament: 

AGD - attention getting device; used at the beginning of speeches to lure in the audience
Breaking - advancing to the next round
Bye - if there is an uneven number of debaters, then one entry gets an automatic win and does not compete that round
Code - the number given to a competitor for an event
Contentions - the main points of a debate case
Criterion - also called value criterion; the way the value will be measured in an LD round
Crystallization/Crystallize - pointing out the key voting issues and main arguments in a debate case to show why the competitor should win the round
Cutting - the process and/or result of selecting and editing material for competition; e.g. a cutting from "The Help"
CX - cross-examination; time period in debate and some extemp rounds for one competitor to ask questions of the other.  also an abbreviation for policy debate
Dance Card - an individualized printout of where a competitor must go for each round throughout the day
Flight - sometimes a tournament will be "flighted" - this means that the events are divided into groups and those groups will be run at separate times
Flow - a way of taking notes in debate rounds (debate has its own language... there are all kinds of terms to learn here!)
Doubling - competing in two events in the same round; abbreviated (DE)
Drop -  in speech, this is an entry who is no longer competing; in debate, this happens when a competitor does not address the opponent's argument
Impromptu Shuffle - choreographed walk for impromptu; also used in extemp, oratory, and sometimes declamation
Kritik - a philosophy-based argument in policy debate that questions an assumption underlying part of an argument, procedure, etc.; typically used by the negative
Low-point Win - winning a debate round but having lower speaker points than the opponent
Meld - see "pop"; typically used for slower transitions in DI
Next Out - the person who just missed advancing to the final round and thus gets a cool consolation prize; usually the 7th place person
Oratorical Two-Step​ - see "impromptu shuffle"
Pick up - also "pick up the ballot"; getting the win in a debate round from a judge
Pop - the act of switching between characters in a performance; typically discussed in HI and storytelling
Rank - a student's placement in the speech round; 1 means the student was first in the round, 2 means the student was second, etc.
Rate - a student's "grade" in the speech round and gives the student an idea of how well he/she spoke; used for tiebreakers in score tabulation
Resolution - the topic being debated
RFD - reason for decision; written on ballots when judges justify a student's rank 
Road map - see "signposting"; terminology typically used in debate to help judge and competitor with flow
Schematic - a code sheet that breaks down each event into sections with room numbers; competitors find their code in order to find their competition room
Shell - outline of a case; typically reserved for counterplans/negative case in policy debate
Signposting - clearly indicating in a speech what the points are ("first we will discuss...")
Speaker Points - awarded to debaters to indicate how well they spoke; sometimes also a synonym for rate in the speech world
Speaks - short for speaker points in debate
Spread - debate tactic where the debater gets in as many arguments as possible during the allotted time, thus going at a rapid rate of speaking
Squirrel - the judge in a panel whose decision does not agree with the others
Swing Tournament - two separate tournaments in one day
Teaser - part of a selection performed before the introduction is given
Tripling - competing in three events at the same round; abbreviated (TE)
Up/Down - system used in the Kentucky NSDA District Tournament; students placing in the upper half of the round get an "up" while students in the bottom half get a "down" - students receiving two downs are eliminated from the competition
VA - visual aid; used in informative to help the speaker relay a message
Value - the standard by which an LD debate case should be weighed